Eyres says: “I remember my mum telling me when I was pregnant with my first child how important self-care is and to not feel bad if I was stressed at home, but to go take a break, get a foot massage, take a walk, have coffee with a girlfriend. I would add the importance of making time for community with other women, especially other mums who might be more experienced in the journey of parenting or marriage, and not being afraid to ask for help. Because it’s too hard for anybody to figure it out on their own. Don’t think you have to do it all by yourself.”

At Mother’s Choice, Marwah and Eyres work closely together—which, being family too, is not always easy.

“A really important way that we support each other is that we don’t forget to have fun together,” says Eyres. “Because the truth is, we do have to do really hard things every day [at Mother’s Choice], and we have to hear some really hard stories. So, we still go out for lunch together, we have a glass of wine together at the end of the day, and on the weekend, we’ll go shopping or go for a long walk.”

It helps, too, that the two women share many strengths, as well as their core values. “We are both visionaries,” says Eyres. “We can see how things can be better, even before they exist and even when it seems impossible. And we’re good at inspiring people to come along with us and help make it happen.”

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Marwah has managed to inspire others not only in Hong Kong, but has also served as a mentor and inspiration around the region, helping to set up initiatives similar to Mother’s Choice in mainland China, India and Cambodia. She says: “Getting people to help volunteer and share your vision with others is really important. A lot of the time, we live in our own little world and we don’t see what’s going on. You can’t perceive what it’s like to be a young girl and have no choice or no place to go. It’s sharing that we can make a difference and change people’s lives, and that it’s quite easy to do.”

Getting through difficult times and moments that might appear hopeless at Mother’s Choice sometimes requires more than strength and support.

“Something that’s really empowered us is gratitude,” say Eyres. “We always say that there’s no such thing as a hopeless case, but we have to nurture hope if we want to overcome [such] challenges. And when we’re hopeful, we find we can see the opportunities that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. My mum always told me that gratitude fosters hope. Nurturing gratitude in my life and in my leadership has grown my personal ability to have hope and our strength and endurance as an organisation.”

Marwah and Eyres both feel that they have found their calling through their work with Mother’s Choice. “My hope is that I can raise my own seven children to know they too have a purpose in life and that serving others in our community is not just an obligation, it’s an incredible opportunity,” says Eyres. “I want them to know that they can be part of making our city a better place and that they can change the life stories for future generations of children who grow up in Hong Kong.”

This story is part of our Front & Female In Conversation column, which appears monthly in the Tatler print magazine and is a series of discussions between women who are making an impact in their respective regions and fields.

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