We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eldonna Fernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eldonna below.
Eldonna, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from bouncing back from many challenges in life. I have had to be resilient all my life. I was a child of 2 alcoholic parents. My mother died from alcoholism when I was only 12 years old, My father died emotionally when my mother died and completely shut off. I had to raise myself and didn’t do that great of a job. I dropped out of high school, ran with the wrong crowd and was going nowhere fast. I came home one day after I turned 18 to find an empty house and notice of eviction on the door. My father had packed up and moved from our home in Texas to Florida and left no forwarding address. This was in the days before there was internet and it wasn’t so easy to navigate and find people. I had a job and an apartment with only a mattress and no other furniture.
I made a decision to do something to better myself. I got my GED and joined the AIr Force at 19. I served in the AIr Force for 23 years, got a bachelors degree and was in the Contracting career field which is lucrative outside of the military. I’ve overcome many obstacles. I’ve written 2 books, co authored one book and contribution author in 8 books. I’m a Toastmasters Accredited Speaker and have spoken professionally since 2008. I currently work with women in poverty in Kenya helping them create microenterprises and sell their products with dignity.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I went on a mission trip to Kenya in 2018 and met a group of amazing women who create beautiful hand crafted products. From that trip Baskets and Beads Kenya was born.
At Baskets and Beads Kenya we help women in Kenya in extreme poverty to build community and create microenterprises so they can sell their products with dignity. We do this by providing a unique personal handcrafted fair trade product within a mass produced world. With those products we empower women who buy our products to know that strength and honor are her clothing.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The Air Force Core Values are Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in all we do, These are values I have embraced all my life. Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is looking. That has helped me make decisions throughout my life. Service Before Self – when you serve others, you get out of your own way and put your focus on something else. There’s a phrase that says “when I got busy I got better” which means when you get busy being of service, your own life gets better. Excellence in all we do means to strive to do everything in excellence. If you fail remember what Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics said “Fail forward to success” Failure is a part of life and it provides opportunities to course correct and redirect to succeed the next time.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am looking for small boutique shops who would be interested in carrying some of these amazing fair trade products hand crafted by women in Kenya.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://basketsandbeadskenya.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basketsandbeadskenya/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EldonnaBNB
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eldonna/
- Twitter: @eldonnaF
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAITIvg0hPC-VIE9x1eewg
Image Credits
Dennis Keyombe, Val Westover
