Meet the founder
From service to service beyond borders.
“Service didn’t end when I left the Air Force. It simply expanded across the world.”
Eldonna Lewis Fernandez · Founder & US Director
In 2018, Eldonna traveled to Kenya on a mission trip with Reaching Beyond Ourselves. What began as a call to serve would become a mission that continues to transform lives through entrepreneurship, education, and opportunity.
Founder · Speaker · Servant leader
Serving beyond borders
Service has been a defining part of my life for more than four decades.
I spent 23 years serving in the United States Air Force, where I learned the value of Service Before Self. When I retired from the Air Force, I didn’t retire from service.
I believe God called me to serve beyond the borders of my own country, to use my experience, my voice, and the opportunities I’ve been given to help create opportunities for others.
Today, that calling is lived out through Baskets and Beads Kenya: empowering women, educating children, and strengthening communities through opportunity, entrepreneurship, and education.
Where it started
Service before self
For 23 years, I served my country in the United States Air Force. Service wasn’t simply something I did. It became part of who I am.
One of the values that shaped my military career was Service Before Self.
When I left the Air Force, I didn’t leave that value behind. I believe God was preparing me for another chapter of service, one that would take me beyond the borders of my own country.
Pastor Steve Rutenbar
The connection God provided
Pastor Steve Rutenbar was the founder of Reaching Beyond Ourselves and a former pastor at Saddleback Church. For more than 20 years, he and the organization he founded had been serving communities in Kenya.
Steve was the person who connected me to the women of Kipsongo.
He was also the first person I told about the idea I woke up with in Kenya: to buy the women’s beads, bring them home, and create a market for their work.
Steve passed away in November 2021, but his influence on this journey continues to be part of the story.
2018
Where it all began
In 2018, I traveled to Kenya with Reaching Beyond Ourselves. It was through that connection that I met the women of Kipsongo.
I saw the beautiful products they were creating and began thinking about what might be possible if they had access to a market beyond their community.
Then one morning, I woke up with an idea: what if I bought some of their beads, brought them home, and sold them?
I knew exactly who I wanted to tell first: Pastor Steve Rutenbar, the person who had connected me to the women. I told Steve about the idea and the name that had come to me, Baskets and Beads Kenya.
I bought handmade magazine beads from five women and brought half a suitcase home with me.
I sold every one.
Those five women became the beginning of something none of us could have imagined.
Speaking
Invite Eldonna to speak
Eldonna speaks to churches, civic groups, women’s gatherings, and corporate teams about entrepreneurship, leadership, negotiation, faith, and what it means to serve beyond borders.
She also brings the story of Baskets and Beads Kenya to communities through speaking engagements and trunk shows featuring the artisans’ work.
Or write to eldonna@basketsandbeadskenya.com directly.
Service beyond borders
When women thrive, families thrive.
When families thrive, communities thrive.
An invitation
Be part of the Circle
The story that began with five women and half a suitcase continues today.
There are many ways to help expand the Circle of Transformation, from supporting a woman’s business or a child’s education to sharing this story with others.