Wisdom from Women

This exhibit showcases stories of 12 such phenomenal women who have inspired us over the years from different parts of the world.

20 years old, Elena Cuomo from Argentina understood that there is life before the Holocaust when she discovered her family history buried in the World War. She advises, “My family had a life before their assassination. They enjoyed doing a lot of things, and I'm pretty sure they would prefer to be remembered as happy people than people who suffered. We have to remember the things we enjoyed, not only the suffering. I work to reconstruct all that they loved, I start by remembering them happy and in life, and by learning Yiddish and bringing back the music and literature that was part of their daily life. There's life before death, and we have to enjoy it.”

Read her full story here.

Kamille Benthien from Denmark talks about the crippling need to be in control and the universal truth that she has worded in her own language. She adds, “No matter how worried you are, a minute will always be 60 seconds long, a day will always consist of 24 hours and a week will always have 7 days in it. This has taught me to re-evaluate worrying. Even when it feels like the whole world circles around it, it does not. Time will not stop because I’m worried. Without tiring the old saying ‘This too shall pass’, your worry will, in fact, pass along as time moves along. Therefore, my life lesson is that time won’t stop for your worries. Time will not stop because I’m worried. Without tiring the old saying ‘This too shall pass’, your worry will, in fact, pass along as time moves along. Therefore, my life lesson is that time won’t stop for your worries.”

Read her full story here.

Child bereavement is real and painful, therefore having a strong support system to cope is very crucial for the well-being of children who have lost either or both parents. In many developing countries, this service is not readily available, but one young teacher in Guyana, inspired by a personal experience has embarked on a life journey to provide child bereavement services. 25-year-old Marva Langevine lost her best friend, who was the mother of two young boys aged two and four, to cancer. After taking note of how that loss affected both children, particularly the older child, she began her quest to help him overcome his grief.

Her organisation Guyana Golden Lives taught her, “Life after loss is challenging but a new normal is possible without a loved one... Children grieve and they are often known as the forgotten mourners... Providing comfort and support for a grieving heart is what I am passionate about... The work is not easy but it is worth it. To see a smiling face, an orphan being able to complete school, a widow having the confidence to be there for her children and community members pooling resources to provide material support after loss is heartwarming.”

Read her full story here.

In the Kingdom of Eswatini, a small country in Southern Africa, Bongekile Felicia Motsa grew up with a single-mother household. It became key to learn quite a number of survival skills for her at a young age. She notes, “Each day, while dragging myself I would complain, “Mom, why do we always have to wake up so early?”. In response, my mother would say, ‘The earlier the better. Rising before the sun means that we have ample time to do much fieldwork, therefore rising early ensures that we greatly utilize our strength to maximum capacity before the sun heat strikes!.’

To a large extent, I have realized that rising early does make the road towards achieving our dreams short. It enables us to set new intentions for the day, to clear out our minds of disturbing thoughts while laying out what we would like to accomplish on that particular day.”

Many years later her own life lesson finds its roots in the ritual of her mother as she shares, "Rising early makes the road short."

Read her full story here.

In the Kosrae island in Micronesia, criticism among family members and friends is a common and comfortable expression of love and admiration than compliments. Where western families would shower a child with praises, you can bet a Kosraean family would crack jokes shaking down the pride of accomplishment to the very core- but the joy and admiration for the child are shown in gestures nonetheless. Heidi Sigrah Floyd recalls, “The words full of sharp glasses and nails are still being thrown, but I tell you, I wouldn't have it any other way. Why? Because I've realized that those waves of sharp words became my 'push' and that I could use them to build myself rather than let them cut me... When compliments are given to you, accept them, but when criticism is thrown at you, appreciate them, for like fire purifies gold, criticism can strengthen you.

A small cultural tradition of her island has impacted her deeply to shape her life lesson: "If you want to grow, seek criticism, not compliments."

Read her full story here.

A way of life gifted to her by her parents genius parenting skills. Marlou shares, “Growing up, my parents always listened to me regardless of whether my arguments were evidence-based or 'just a feeling'. Because I have trained this muscle from a young age, my intuition has become much stronger over the years and I have learnt to trust it more. Today, it helps me in my leadership as well as in the most important role I carry; motherhood.”

Read her full story here.

Nigerian educator and activist, Victoria Ibiwoye, talks about her belief that each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it is empty, we feel awful... Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy... We can fill one another's buckets, or we can dip from them. It's an important choice; one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health and happiness.

This philosophy has taught her: "Forgive and forgive quickly. Your bucket will be full knowing you can end the day with sound sleep and wake up to a brighter day filled with possibilities."

Read her full story here.

In Samoa island, Tahere Talaina Si'isi'ialafia-Mau’s dad was a gardener and her mum had different jobs ranging from preschool teacher to housegirl and cleaner jobs. Her entire journey of tertiary education has been enabled through scholarships that she worked hard for and being conscious about being economically underprivileged, she had to work even harder not to fail to ensure that she keeps her scholarships and achieves the highest level of education she can. She recounts how her father shaped her ideology in those tough times, “And this is where I had come to really resonate with what my father had always said to me when I was young and fully empathize with the hardship my parents went through to earn a living especially ensuring that we all go to school. "To be fully empowered is to be enabled; without enablement, empowerment is just a mere feeling."

“Enablement”, Tahere shares, “to me is like 'scaffolding;' it's about scaffolding empowerment to become more meaningfully fulfilling.”

Read her full story here.

Singaporean role model Elim Chew, advocates for people to "See things from your heart, and not just with your eyes."

A need she has identified after years of working with entrepreneurs and young changemakers. Elim adds, “Ever since the digital age started a lot of people are using technology, but they have lost their sensitivity quotient to things around them. We have almost lost a bit of our sixth sense to even do things. We are missing out on a lot of good futures for ourselves.

When you see things with your heart, and you do things with your heart, you put everything into it, versus just doing things for the sake of it, things that are just on the surface and have no depth... Seeing things with the heart and being able to bring up and do something to create impact is important.”

Read her full story here.

33 years old Srilankan supermodel Kalpanee Gunawardana, learnt through her career that privilege in one area does not exclude you from being marginalised in another. She writes, “I have learnt this throughout my life. What it, however, provides you with always, is the opportunity. Recognising this has led me to the most valuable lesson of my life, my compass. You must create opportunity... I want to ask you to see the opportunity and privilege you may find in life as a responsibility to create the same for others.”

Read her full story here.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Jody Williams from the United States of America started thinking about her life lesson at age 13. Recounting an impressionable incident she shares, “During my Junior High School days, my best friend made out (just kissing at the time) with a boy from our class. The boy, however, said that he had rather had his way with her; implying something completely different. He did this to prove to others that he was amazing. But he did it at the cost of the girl. In my little peanut brain, at the time, I realised that people will mould everything according to their interests and agendas. So instead of trying to please them try rather stick to your truth. One must realise that complaining about things is not a strategy for change. The only thing that matters is the action you take. And my action is to do what's right, not what people might like."

Read her full story here.

Self-love is one of the most preached yet least practised areas of personal development. Truc Nguyen from Vietnam would often put others before herself and their priorities before her own. So much so that she forgot to take care of her well being and didn't realize she was becoming more difficult for other people around her. It reached the point where she was completely burned out and realized she could not continue anymore. So she gave herself a break and turned inwards. She learned to accept herself and be compassionate to herself. She says, “It was a rewarding process. I find that when I am truly happy, I could be nice and go easy on other people.”

Truc now advises people that if "I can't be kind to other people if I am not kind to myself."

Read her full story here.