Feature: Echoing across cultures -- uplifting stories of global women

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- They come from different corners of the world, yet share the same courage to persevere through hardship and shine in the ordinary. Women are redefining strength with their inspiring stories across continents and cultures.

Their stories transcend borders and languages, weaving a collective narrative of resilience, creativity and hope that resonates with the spirit of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women. Their journeys are not only the footnotes of an era, but also the heartbeat of shared humanity.

DOING SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE

In front of a small handicraft shop called "Blue Sheep" in Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, a special farewell party was being held. The guest of honor was an elderly British woman, Rachel Grace Pinniger, who has spent the past five decades dedicating her life to service abroad.

Born in 1945 in Shaftesbury, England, to a medical family, Pinniger was the youngest daughter. After graduating from the University of Bristol in 1968, she gave up a well-paid, stable career and began her odyssey to traverse conflict zones and disaster areas across Asia and Africa, pursuing a medical career for healthcare work and education in 15 developing countries.

In 2008, she came to southwest China's Sichuan Province to assist with the Wenchuan earthquake relief efforts and post-disaster training programs for disabled survivors. Reflecting on how she could further support them, she found inspiration in their delicate handmade crafts rich with ethnic character and was determined to create sustainable sales channels for them.

In 2013, Pinniger founded Blue Sheep, a modest shop in Chengdu selling handicrafts made by people with disabilities or struggling families. When she first proposed opening the shop, many discouraged her. "They all said, 'Don't do it, it will fail,'" she recalled. But she was undeterred. "I thought, if it fails after one or two years, that's not a big deal."

More than a decade later, her shop has not only survived but thrived. The store displays about 20,000 handicrafts from 13 ethnic groups. Over the past decade, the shop has supported more than 1,000 disadvantaged individuals in Sichuan.

"People think charity means giving things for free," Pinniger said, "But what they truly need is dignity, to be seen as capable, not pitied," she said, adding that watching people gain self-worth through acceptance and seeing them blossom when valued for who they are is what truly changes lives.

In her farewell letter, Pinniger quoted Mother Teresa: "We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

EMPOWERED BY BEING A WOMAN

Inside a bustling coffee processing plant in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 33-year-old Tisya Mukuna moved gracefully past rows of roaring roasters, her flowing, brightly colored dress a vibrant contrast to the industrial surroundings. As the founder of La Kinoise -- "the woman of Kinshasa" -- Mukuna is affectionately dubbed by locals as the country's "Coffee Queen."

Mukuna's journey has been global. She studied marketing in France and earned an MBA in Shanghai. Her parents once envisioned her working at a multinational in New York; instead, she returned home, determined to start her own business.

In 2018, she turned her focus to the coffee industry. "As a Congolese woman, I wanted to contribute to the development of my country."

Yet entrepreneurship proved anything but easy. She faced many challenges, including funding shortages, unstable power supplies, unreliable equipment and poor infrastructure. Even more difficult was the fact of being a woman entrepreneur.

Mukuna admitted that at first she doubted herself for being a "new girl" in the industry, noting that in the coffee industry dominated by men, she was often treated in a patronizing way.

However, "they didn't shake me. It actually made me stronger," Mukuna said. "Exactly, sometimes just because I'm a woman, it's easier for people to remember me. There may be ten men coming to present their coffee, but only one woman with a flower on her head. Believe me, at the end of the day, people will remember the woman with the flower."

As a woman trying to make a change and show that Congolese coffee is among the best, Mukuna was determined to restore the DRC's position as a leading global coffee exporter. In 2023, her Robusta coffee won an award at the Paris International Agricultural Show, restoring pride and attention to Congolese beans.

Through her old plantation revival program, Mukuna trained farmers, revived abandoned plantations, and bought beans at fair prices. Young people don't have to flock to big cities to find hope, she said, they can build it right here -- from the ground up.

LIFE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH

At dawn, Somaya Shomer walked through the narrow alleys of al-Nuseirat refugee camp, her white coat fluttering like armor. In Gaza, it is both her uniform and her shield -- a quiet defiance amid destruction.

Inside al-Awda field hospital, the 34-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist and a mother herself delivered life in the ruins. The cries of newborns mixed with the echo of distant shellfire.

"In my previous pregnancies, I enjoyed every stage," she told Xinhua. "But this time I feel burdened with worries, about my health, food shortages, and the ongoing conflict." Food and medicine are scarce; even rest is a luxury. "Sometimes I fall asleep in my work clothes," she said.

Before her current pregnancy reached its final stage, Shomer used to work more than 50 hours a week. Now, each day she faces over 200 patients, many displaced and desperate.

In the dim light of a single lamp, she placed a simple ultrasound on a mother's belly. The image flickered, faint but alive. Outside, the sound of explosions mixed with newborn cries, the fragile rhythm of survival.

"My husband is also a doctor," she said. "Sometimes we're both on duty, leaving our children alone. This is a heavy responsibility, but we keep going."

Every cry she hears is defiance against despair. So she struggled to save it.

"With every birth, we feel that hope is still possible, that life is stronger than death," Shomer said. "Every child born in Gaza is a message that our people cling to life despite all difficulties." ■