Women Who make us say Wow!
Debbie Berger, Nancy Pace and Pam Omidyar are being honored for their truly amazing accomplishments
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Berger: You know how to ask for help and you accept it with gratitude. You learn to trust people and it really opens your eyes. You realize there’s so many great, skillful, competent people out there.
Pace: I ask the busiest person to do a job because they know how to manage their time. It’s important to hire people who do not have your skill set. When you’re passionate about something, you find the time to do it. Also, I don’t need much sleep.
Omidyar: My family is my priority and because of that I limit my travel (although I’m currently in Liberia). Travel is important, though, because personal experience helps inform the work we do. We make sure that our children know they are cherished, and that when Mom and Dad are gone, it’s because we are trying to bring opportunity and dignity to others in the world.
Can you say something about crossing the intercultural barrier and connecting with people who often live in austere conditions? Berger: The differences are obvious, but it’s almost hard to remember them because when you meet people, they’re the same as you. If you have an open heart and open ears, the differences just fall away.
Pace: I don’t mind bugs, rats, anything. I really don’t. I actually really like the bush. I know that I have to be with the people in order to effect change. When I deliver a mosquito net or I get a donation, I want to guarantee my donors that I’m giving, so I have to live with them; that’s what I love to do. And what transcends everything is when you get rid of all of the “stuff” that we have in America and you are on the same level - you’re drinking the same water they’re drinking and sitting on the same dirt floor. And I don’t ever want to give something to someone; I want to empower them to take care of themselves.
Omidyar: Crossing barriers is about listening and trying to understand another’s beliefs and passions. When we do that without judgment or fear, we realize how similar we all are. It is important to build shared trust as we are in service to help them achieve their dreams, not ours.
When times get hard, what keeps you going?
Berger: The lack of access to education, opportunity or adequate health care. We human beings are the greatest resource this world has. It’s our responsibility, each of us, to steward this human capacity. I do what I do because I get a huge amount of satisfaction from it. I see myself in every single person that I talk to. It’s an opportunity to experience other people’s paths.
Pace: There are many times when I’ve had to rely on my faith. I’ve been in some very dangerous situations. I also just have a huge passion for people who don’t have. I get so much joy out of seeing a smile on their faces. I can’t imagine that anything I can ever do for them can make them as happy as they make me. People we’ve worked with - one man was an orphan and he was adopted by someone in Tennessee. He’s in parliament now in Nairobi. People can always say, “What are you doing this for?” If it makes a difference for one person, that’s all we need.
Omidyar: I’m inspired by the immense human potential that exists as well as a deep emotional drive to alleviate human suffering, which crushes potential. I’m also inspired to find more ways to advance human freedoms and elevate dignity and opportunity for all.
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What obstacles have you encountered while pursuing your philanthropic work?
Berger: The greatest obstacles are man-made - resistance to change, prejudice. Fighting that is very difficult, but it’s our duty to rise up against it.
Pace: Resources that we have in this country are significant, and when you don’t have those, when you don’t have clean water or some way to make clean water and you’re in the desert, that’s the kind of obstacle we’ve run into. Danger, in terms of kidnapping, that was an obstacle.
Omidyar: Sometimes when you have an idea, it doesn’t play out the way you think it will. You have to be flexible and persistent. If you really believe in your idea, keep pushing yourself to see it through. There are lots of people who might tell you it won’t work and to do something else - maybe something easier. I believe in the power of persistence.
What advice would you give younger generations?
Berger: Invest in yourself, and that could mean working hard at school or really pushing yourself at Girl Scouts or through travel. Take every opportunity you have, and learn from other people’s experience and from books. Only through that process can you broaden beyond your comfort zone.
Pace: Take a risk. I would actually want to talk to the parents because I think the parents oftentimes say, “You can’t do this because it’s dangerous.” With education and understanding, our girls can do it. And don’t squash any girl’s dreams, because you never know who they’re going to be. I encourage girls to do servant leadership. Giving to other people will bring you the greatest satisfaction. And don’t take no for an answer. Figure out a way to change that no to a yes.
Omidyar: Pursue the things that you feel passionate about, that motivate you to act. Start small - even a small gesture can make a difference in someone’s life.
Hearing Berger, Pace and Omidyar speak is like a jolt of adrenaline that makes you want to step up your service attitude and goals a couple of notches to, in some significant way, make a difference in the world.
“Our mission as Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, and ‘who make the world a better place,’” notes Hannemann. “What we’ve heard from girls a lot is ‘How do I do that?‘This dinner gives us an opportunity to see these women who look larger than life and to hear their stories, so the girls can connect in a way they wouldn’t normally. The women we try to honor are women who, at some level, are just ordinary people but who have done extraordinary things with their lives.”
The annual Girl Scouts benefit is tonight at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Kristi Cardoso at 675-5516.
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