I’m currently in Istanbul with Mohanned, our Iraq Program Manager, Rawad, our Iraq Business Manager, and Ted, President of Prosperity Candle. We are here to provide training to four women who were all trained to make pillar candles during Prosperity Candle’s 2009 pilot in Baghdad—Nazhat, Lumiyaa, Intisar, and Hiyam.

I’ve heard these names ever since I joined the Prosperity Team back in 2011 as a volunteer. Each of these women were known as “star” candle makers—those who created and sold the highest quality and greatest volume of candles during the pilot. I had sort of resigned myself to never meeting our entrepreneurs in Baghdad, since traveling there is out of the question to ensure both my safety as well as theirs. Meeting them now, three years later, with the intention of launching a sustainable business that they will one day own and operate, is the most rewarding experience I could imagine.

I loved these women immediately. To be honest, I expected that they might need time to get comfortable working with us, and that they might be a little reserved in the first few days. But they were immediately open, excited, and full of questions.On Sunday night when we arrived in Istanbul, we met briefly with them to provide an overview of the coming three days. Ted asked them if anyone had sensitivity to perfume, as we would be making scented candles in a closed room. They looked at each other as the question was translated, then laughed. “We Iraqi women are tough, perfume is not a problem.” I laughed too, but this point really struck me. These women handle more in their day-to-day lives than most people see in a lifetime. If anyone has the determination and resilience to overcome challenges and change the world, my money’s on them.

They bring with them a lot more than determination, too. We weren’t entirely sure that they were still making candles, or if they had stopped when the pilot ended. Not only were they making candles, they were innovating new designs and colors, testing out locally available perfumes, and taking note of every issue they faced both technical and material. Nazhat even brought examples of her candles from Baghdad to Istanbul—not the perfect ones, but the flawed ones so that she could ask Ted to explain what went wrong. Why does it burn unevenly? Why did it burn right through the bottom? Why is the color uneven? Each woman came prepared with a list of questions, which Ted has gradually addressed over the course of the past few days.

By the end of day one, the women had all learned to make container candles—a totally new style than what they learned during the pilot (as my introduction to candle making, I have learned that this is WAY more technical than I ever imagined. Ted says that it’s one half art, and one half science). We celebrated the end of a successful day with a shared meal, and brought the newly made candles with us to light during dinner.

These women are an incredible resource to us, both for their pre-existing skill sets and their eagerness to see this program come to life. These past few days, I’ve seen tangible, first-hand evidence that we are achieving what we set out to achieve. I’ll admit that sometimes it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the very real challenge of launching a women-owned business in Baghdad. But meeting these women, watching them learn to make perfect products after just a couple hours of instruction, hearing them ask questions that clearly indicate years of independent problem solving, makes me see that it’s only a matter of time before this dream we share comes true. I could not be more driven to play my part.

-Liz Mastors, Iraq Program Officer