Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Jasper
Hi Rebecca, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was recruited from my role as board member of Friends of the DRC – a returned Peace Corps NGO to be the Congo Liaison for First Step Initiative (a local non-profit) because I could speak French and provide direction to the team in Congo with my years of experience living and working in that country while in the Peace Corps.
We had our work cut out for us as we had recently lost our major donor a mine in Lubumbashi who had considered our overhead too high when we were providing micro-loans. Indeed it was very labor intensive to collect the interest on these many micro-loans we provided. So we re-branded to SAIDIANA with a new strategy of grants for capital equipment for women entrepreneurs in the Congo.
We fund raise and provide awareness about the Congo out of the Twin Cities to support the community in Lubumbashi a large mining town in southern Congo.
The beneficiaries are the larger community and their children so that women with scalable business (and sometimes new one) can help support more workers and their families while strengthening the economy in the Congo. This also helps keep children away from the mining work with a secure home environment.
Since we are all volunteers and have full time jobs and families it is really a labor of love to support these women to put in those extra hours to run this enterprise that makes such a difference to the women who know someone is thinking and caring about them in a way that we support them to grow where they cannot in a country where women can do very little without a man’s permission.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We had a large mining donor who was concerned about our expensive overhead and pulled out. We re-organized, but couldn’t regain their attention. We have local benefactors who have seen the good work that we have done but have yet to get sustainable new funding from a large foundation.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Post college graduation with a degree in International Business and Japanese language, I wanted to do my service before I started my career and did this in the Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Managing Director of a Mushenge Health Zone located in the jungle in the middle of the Congo over 200 miles from the nearest city. I completed my 2 years (plus 3 months of training) in 1991 where I started by career in business and have been in Supply chain since then. Currently I am the VP of Global Supply Chain at BARE HOME based out of Columbus, MN.
I am known for my energy and employee focused management style.
I have a fantastic family and most proud of the work I have done in DRC in Africa while in the Peace Corps and continue to do with SAiDIANA.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think interns are the best idea since sliced bread. I have had interns support me since 2008 in every company including Saidiana!. I find them currently at the university of st. Thomas. I have had the fortune of being able to mentor them all.
Networking by keeping engaged with people I used to work with and parents of my kids while at events. I could absolutely do more of it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.saidianacongo.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saidianacongo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saidianacongo/
- Twitter: https://x.com/SaidianaCongo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbd_fR7zYxoH_c2r18fHI4w
