Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
At a water pump factory in Mexico, Noel Irwin-Hentschel noted aremarkable difference between two women who were the same age andhad grown up in the same village. One, who worked at the factory,"stood tall and had tremendous confidence,"Irwin-Hentschel says. "The other hadn't been given thesame opportunity, and her shoulders were bent over. She looked asthough she'd given up."
Though Irwin-Hentschel brings in about $150 million through hertravel business, Los Angeles-based AmericanTours International, hernonprofit organization provides an even greater commodity:hope.
"I've noticed the entrepreneurial spirit in the poorestwomen," says the founder of The Noel Foundation. "Whenthey have the opportunity to earn an income and have someself-respect, you see a major change in them."
The turning point for Irwin-Hentschel occurred during a speechshe heard by Mother Teresa. "She said if each person took thesame drive [he or she] used to build a business and used it towardhelping others, just think what a force that would be,"Irwin-Hentschel recalls. "It inspired me to start a foundationto help women and children who are most in need."
The Noel Foundation sponsors an annual award honoringoutstanding women; honorees have included South African activistsHelen Suzman and Adelaide Tambo, Margaret Thatcher, Ireland'sPresident Mary Robinson, cancer researcher Christiane DosnePasqualini, and Mother Teresa. Using funds raised from the awardsdinner, Irwin-Hentschel is able to offer or support educational,entrepreneurial, healthcare and environmental programs in areasranging from South Africa and Costa Rica to China and South CentralLos Angeles. The foundation has also provided a research grant tostop the transmission of AIDS between mother and child.
Though she has greeted many women world leaders, Irwin-Hentschelstill derives much of her inspiration from the poorest and mostanonymous women in the world. "The women I've met have allhad an impact on me," she says. "Women can be influentialin their acts and inspire by their deeds. Whether women are knownor unknown, it's what they're doing to change lives thatcontinues to motivate me."
