Although the rural women of Malawi experience considerable poverty, significant health challenges and limited educational opportunities, the women employed in an international faith-based organization demonstrated resilience and leadership. The qualitative research study used individual interviews of 17 women, a nine-woman focus group and field observations to explore life stories.

The women's personal characteristics that demonstrated leadership included a genuine care for others and a goal orientation towards further education, while the women's behaviors that demonstrated leadership pertained to the responsible care of the most vulnerable within their families, villages, churches and in their faith-based organization. The relationships that supported the development of their leadership focused primarily on a childhood relationship with their mother and/or a father. The women's life experiences that supported the development of leadership were associated with schooling, through and beyond secondary school. Life experiences that challenged the development of leadership were related to some of the women's inability to pursue further education.

The behaviors that demonstrated resilience primarily focused on the women's caring behavior for the community's most vulnerable, in spite of their experiences of challenge or setback. The relationships that supported the development of the women's resilience focused primarily on their relationship with God, but also included some relationships with family members. The experiences that initially challenged the women's development of resilience were related to poverty, abuse and most significantly, death of loved ones.

Both leadership and resilience appear to be associated. Resilience was believed to have influenced the women's leadership. Through their challenging life experiences, the women developed an affinity for working with orphans, became strong role models for the orphans and/or found meaning in the provision of care for the orphans or the widows. The women's leadership was believed to have influenced their resilience by increasing access to resources for themselves or for their family members. When resilience's influence on leadership was compared to leadership's influence on resilience, both appeared to be significantly impactful.