One such success story is that of Sundaram Kumari, A computer engineer turned Social Entrepreneur and a mother. She hails from India and has been living in Frankfurt, Germany for over 7 years. She is also contesting for Kommunale Ausländerinnen- und Ausländervertretung (KAV), the local forum for representing the interest of foreigners living in Frankfurt city.
Tell us about yourself and your journey to Germany and your experience so far.
I am Sundaram Kumari, A computer engineer turned Social Entrepreneur and a mother. I am from India and have been living in Frankfurt for nearly 7 years. I am contesting for Kommunale Ausländerinnen- und
Ausländervertretung (KAV), the local forum for representing the interest of foreigners living in Frankfurt city.
I come from a rural background, strongly connected to my roots, and I have always wanted to give back to society especially where I came from. I founded an NGO named Bhavishya in 2015 with a mission to provide
economic empowerment through skill training and education for the underprivileged women and girls in Bihar, India.
7 years ago, I came to Frankfurt as a trailing spouse and faced usual challenges as an ex-pat to get integrated, overcome language barriers and find suitable professional opportunities. I decided to chart my own course
by starting a socio-preneur venture, Shilp World- an e-commerce platform to market affordable, ethnic products directly from artisans to the consumers. Over time I connected to fellow ex-pats women in Frankfurt
that gave me an idea to start a chapter of Bhavishya Germany as a platform for ex-pat women towards cultural integration, professional development by organizing vocational workshops, professional webinars, etc. We also collaborate with other private and public networks to create a greater impact. In a few years, Bhavishya e.V. has set its own mark among the International Women’s community in Germany.
Tell us more about KAV? And your journey from supporting women in villages to now running for a political position.
Kommunale Ausländer- und Ausländerinnenvertretung (KAV) , is the municipal representation of foreigners in Frankfurt city. The elected representatives work as an advisory board in the city office. Their common goal is an integration of foreigners while having the freedom of preserving their own cultural identity. The board also advises the city foreign office on matters related to foreigners visas such as family visas, work visas, etc.
What are the challenges that you would like to make an impact on?
Over the years I have been working with many Indian and other ex-pats for Bhavishya e.V. The opportunity to run for KAV election came when few like-minded community leaders formed an organization to address the challenges of the ex-pats and asked me to join the team especially to address ex-pat women. I decided to run as it was aligned with the goals of Bhavishya and provides a more enabling platform through better reach with public authorities.
As a young ex-pat in Frankfurt, who has struggled personally and professionally, I am deeply aware of the challenges that ex-pat women face. Together with our team, I aspire to contribute to building a conducive platform by strengthening the cooperation between KAV and associations for the social, cultural, and professional integration of Expat Women in Frankfurt.
5 Women leaders who inspire you & why?
We have so many inspiring women around us who work selflessly for their families, for their community, for the country, or for humanity. The names which I can think of now are My mother, who has spent all her life raising us and still think about our happiness before anything else. Other names that come to my mind are Vandana Shiva: Scientist, Activist, Educator, Environmental Steward. Angela Merkel and Oprah Winfrey for their work in making an impact on people’s life.
What's your international Women's Day message?
Don’t be afraid to start over again. This time you are not starting from scratch, you are starting from your experience!
To know more about Shilp World on the link below