In our never ending commitment to becoming more sustainable, the BeadforLife environmental committee attended a “greening your office” session last Friday. The Business Leaders in Action for Sustainability Today or BLAST! is an entity created by the folks at Amadeus Consulting, an amazing tech consulting group who offers a free presentation to other businesses and organizations about their path to going green.
We first attended a brief overview and power point of Amadeus’s accomplishments including winning a “Zero Waste Honor” from Eco-Cycle. We were then treated to a tour of the office and had a first-hand look at the sustainability steps they have initiated over the years.
Some of the things we saw:
- Their office is a zero waste office, meaning almost all their trash is diverted from the landfills (up to 90%) and sent to a compost bin, recycling, or use of a policy of avoidance of disposals/waste all together, like using reusable plate ware instead of paper plates.
- A fantastic display and recycling bin for hard-to-recycle items (see pic).
- Other features: light-motion sensors, innovative day lighting, low voc paints, almost a completely paperless office, busing and biking to work incentives, and much, much more.
What was really inspirational about Amadeus is that they are NOT a green company by trade. They simply had some committed employees who wanted to implement sustainability initiatives in their company. Not only has it inspired the Amadeus employees and enhanced the culture there, but it has ended up saving the company quite a bit of money!
The BeadforLife office in Boulder was inspired by the presentation/tour and we hope to recreate many of the ideas Amadeus presented into our workplace.
For more information on BLAST, how to participate, or attend a free presentation, go to: http://www.blastnetwork.org/
Tags: BeadforLife, Boulder, Colorado, paper jewelry, sustainability, Women Making A Difference
The activities in the inventory department, at BeadforLife include: purchase of beautiful beads from members, storage, quality control and shipping. Bead jewelry is purchased from
Evelyn weaves her magic mixing colors at the ‘bundling’ table!
members and sold to meet existing demand. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings are bundled and tagged; differentiated by style and color, before shipment to Europe and North America. The proceeds from the income from the sale of BeadforLife materials
Karim is tagging jewelry with silver BeadforLife tags!
is directed towards helping Ugandan women uplift themselves and their families from extreme poverty. It is fulfilling to see members make positive steps out of poverty.
Collens Mugisha “Mama” ensures that all boxes are packed & sealed for shipment.
The fun, laughter and jokes in the inventory department inspire and excite us, as we work hard to fulfill our daily tasks. I have wondered, at times, what I would do without the positive inspiration from my wonderful teammates at BeadforLife.
Tags: Africa, Beaders, BeadforLife, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Uganda, Women Making A Difference
“We want to sing you a song to bring you twins!” shouted the women, before engulfing BeadforLife staff member Phoebe Aringo in a tide of clapping, dancing, ululating bodies, 
showering prayers for two babies.
As the coordinator of Suubi group, Phoebe has worked with these women for the past two years, acting as resource and mentor for group members, as well as a liaison between the group and other program departments. Phoebe loves the members of Suubi group, and is a great advocate on their behalf.
Last month, Phoebe had a traditional Ugandan wedding celebration, or Introduction at her ancestral village in Eastern Uganda. Known as the Mugolay, or Bride, she goes through a day-long ceremony that involves ceremonial negotiations between the two families, many playful games, beautiful costumes, and of course, lots of food.
Today Suubi saw Phoebe for the first time since her Introduction, and they were ready to celebrate! Bringing her into the middle of the circle, they danced around her, prodding her to show off her moves, and begging her to present Ben, her new husband, to the group for their approval. After three dances, Phoebe retired to the sidelines, only to be swept up by the final touch - a fervent prayer from 65 women that she would be the mother of twins, one of the highest honors in Ugandan culture.
It brought tears to my eyes to watch. BeadforLife offers not only the currency of cold hard cash (or Ugandan shillings) but also the riches of love, shared between Phoebe and the members of her group, and from them back to her in plenty.
I hope you can feel the love from Uganda to each one of you. We certainly feel your thoughts, prayers and love coming back to us every day!
Tags: Africa, BeadCircle, Beaders, BeadforLife, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Poverty Eradication, Women Making A Difference
Eva Larsen
BeadforLife Community Partner, Eva Witt Larsen, shares her experience of hosting BeadParties half a world away.
Most people already know that BeadforLife’s mission and success can be directly attributed to our amazing network of volunteers and BeadParty
hosts, but some may be unfamiliar with the work our Community Partners do, both in the US and abroad.
Eva Witt Larsen began hosting BeadParties in her native Denmark about two years ago when she went back and visited with her family. This summer, Eva’s father, Kurt (who has been working in fundraising for youth soccer in Hvidovre, outside of Copenhagen), invited Eva to set up a BeadParty table at their monthly summer flea market.
As is common with international travel, some challenges are bound to present themselves! Eva (with the help of her family) carried on many pounds of beads on her flight to Denmark. After packing up the family dining table and baskets, Eva arrived to the flea market late and was worried about getting a good spot to set-up. Fortunately, a nice stranger invited Eva to set-up next to him and as it turned out, his wife, Patience is from Uganda!
Eva and Patience had an amazing exchange in Eva’s native tongue, Danish, and really connected with each other about extreme poverty as well as ways women can lift themselves and their families out of it. And Patience was not the only person at the event who became attached to BeadforLife’s mission. Eva recalls educating many women at the market on global poverty and through her passion and spirit, sold close to $700 of beads!
From the enthusiasm and interest expressed by some of the women at the market, Eva is very hopeful that these women will go on to host their own parties and engage further in education. Eva is also grateful to her mother, Inga, not only for all her help with hosting the parties, but for inspiring and continuing outreach within her community in Denmark. This small summer market’s
Summer Flea Market in Denmark
success has illustrated how closely we are all connected in the bead circle, regardless of miles, culture, or birthright.
Tags: BeadCircle, beaded jewelry, BeadforLife, Boulder, community partners, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Poverty Eradication, Uganda, Volunteer, Women Making A Difference
I am from Los Angeles, California. I grew up in California, went to Berkeley in the 60s, and was a full-fledged hippie. I love to travel and have been blessed to see a lot of the world, including recently living and working in Madurai, India and Kisumu, Africa. I worked in both places as a psychotherapist training the staffs to work with people who have experienced trauma. What brings me the most joy is meeting people from other cultures, particularly people in third world countries, and working with them to help improve their lives. I receive 100-fold in love, joy, and fulfillment what I give to them.
I also enjoy photographing people. I use the camera as a way to connect and as a lens into people’s lives and souls. Some day I would like to travel the world meeting and photographing people, chronicling a slice of their life, and then putting everything together in a book.
I began volunteering at BeadforLife at its inception. A close friend of mine is a very close friend with BeadforLife 
co-founder Ginny Jordan. She told me about BeadForLife and I was intrigued with the concept and wanted to help. So I began volunteering when the volunteer room that held all the beads was a closet. “You’ve come a long way baby” is certainly a phrase that belongs to BeadForLife, as well as an example of what three people can set into motion.
I went to Uganda with Devin’s husband Mark and that trip really did change my life. It began my knowing that I wanted to work in another country using my skills and talents to help others and then I acted on that dream.
At the present time, I am involved with the “pad project,” raising money for reusable sanitary pads for girls in Kenya. While I was in Kenya, I discovered that girls were dropping out of school as soon as they began menstruating because they had no sanitary pads. They were too poor to have rags (these were their clothes) or to use mattress stuffing (they slept on the ground); some of the girls used cow dung to catch their menstrual blood and got terrible infections, so they stopped going to school. This meant that they no longer got breakfast nor lunch, two meals they received at school. Soon they were working as sex workers, became pregnant and/or became HIV positive or got AIDS. K-MET , the organization through which I’m working has begun a project making reusable sanitary pads. Six pads last the girls six months and costs $6. So, for $12 a girl can stay in school for one year. I hope to be able to establish a nonprofit to continue to raise money for pads, but on a larger scale.
Tags: BeadCircle, BeadforLife, Boulder, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Poverty Eradication, Women Making A Difference
A few BeadForLife staff carrying shea butter tubs/buckets to be loaded onto the container a few minutes after the arrival of the truck.
It was a bright Friday morning; everybody seemed overwhelmed by the activities going on in inventory as we prepared for our very first sea shipment in a huge container that would carry our beads and shea butter to America. Despite the humming and singing of gospel music that goes on in inventory, everyone seemed busy and anxious while they each made their final touches putting boxes together, packing jewelry, labeling and weighing each individual box one after another. We all had our eyes wide open, anxious to usher in the enormous metal container that would eventually ship our beads, shea butter and the shea soap via the Atlantic Ocean all the way to America. The waiting can be compared to that of a husband waiting in the corridors of the labor ward, looking out for a doctor to break the news “you have a baby” . . . The name DAMCO (the shipping agent we used) became so popular within the inventory team that anyone who walked in would think that “DAMCO” was one of the staff members working there.
Finally our long awaited container mounted onto a truck was driven in on Monday morning of July 19th 2010. The entire team
Arranging boxes of BeadforLife paper bead jewelry, raw shea butter and BeadforLife shea soap in the container headed to the USA.
looked energized to pack up the container with beaded jewelry from the inventory department, raw shea butter and lemongrass/ lavender shea soap from the Shea Team. With the team spirit, no one seemed to wear down. It was fun having the two teams work together, handing boxes up into the truck while others mathematically and with expertise stuffed the container with inventory that will eventually be stockpiled in the USA where BeadforLife has another family of well-wishers and good spirited people who buy beads and shea products as a means of being part of the BeadforLife mission and cause.
Within about 3 hours the packing was done, container sealed and ready to take off for Mombasa-Kenya. (Uganda is a land locked country, so cargo has to go through either Kenya or Tanzania). A look in everyone’s eyes seemed to read . . . “hmmm mission accomplished”! It is enthusiasm and commitment that makes it all happen. Hooray! Shea Team and Inventory as we look forward to the next sea shipment.
The container is shut tight with a security seal as it leaves the BeadforLife premises. Final destination - Boulder, Colorado !!
Tags: Africa, BeadCircle, BeadforLife, Boulder, Colorado, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Poverty Eradication, shea butter, sustainability, Uganda, Women Making A Difference
In June, the BeadforLife North American office took two days to reflect on the past year and plan for the coming year. To kick off the event, each staff member was asked to write down in 6 words, what BeadforLife means to them. We then took these heartfelt lines and used them to create a poem:
The BeadCircle helps me feel connected
Strength, compassion, learning, support, excitement, thankful
Hopeful amazed healing spirit bountiful potential
Part of something bigger than yourself
Empoweing women, Transforming Lives, Creating connections
One Man’s Paper, Another Woman’s Hope
Passion, hope, pride, ove, joy, gratitude
Friendship, caring, education, growth, joy, life
Joy, laughter, hope, change peace, beauty
Basic paper, basic needs, and balanced livelihood
Fulfilling love, dreams take flight
Gratitude, compassion, awareness, strategy, intelligence
Women connecting, caring, changing the world
Filling hearts by helping other women
Blessed hopeful Open Hearted connected love
Women Rising Up Healing Each Other
Hope, health, joy, respect, community, power
The privilege of Awakening in Circle
Would you like to add to the poem? Leave us a comment with the 6 words that describe what BeadforLife means to you.
BeadforLife North American staff at their annual planning meeting
Tags: BeadforLife, North America
I am called Nuru Nabbumba Kisitu, 23 years old and I come from a humble background. I am the first born in the family of six children and I am openly living with HIV. My life hasn’t been a smooth journey life one can imagine.
Nuru Nabbumba Kisitu
Throughout my childhood I experienced infidelity and domestic violence at home and grew up from one of Kampala’s suburbs’ called Katanga. I learnt the hard way and life taught me to be tough. I guess I matured before my time after dad and mom separated I took on the role of my mother to look after my siblings at only 10 years old.
Dad fell sick suddenly and died when I was 14 years old in my S.2 first term. Life become tough for me and my family because he didn’t leave anything like inheritance so we had to begin from scratch.
Mom managed to put us in school for a while and I managed to finish my s.4 in 2002 and I got a job in a restaurant where I was earning 1500 per day. Our exams came back and I had passed but not so well because I was sick. I requested my bosses to allow me work in the night shifts so that I could raise school fees for s.5 they allowed me and I managed to get money for the first term and well wishers who were daily customers offered to buy me a uniform, scholastic materials and school fees for second and third term.
I completed A level by the grace of God amidst my deteriorating health and issues with school fees. I got another job in my s.6 vacation at Makerere University main library and I was earning 7000/= per day, worked for 7 months and the contract ended. It could not be renewed because I was attending work irregularly.
I saved some small money and started a small business of selling cooked food in 2006, managed to save 400,000/= and went to register in Kyambogo University. I was given the vacancy but I could not enroll because I was very sick and had spent all the money on my sickness. This is when I learnt that I had AIDS at that time. I was encouraged to first work on my health and school would follow.
At the end of 2007, friends I attend with PIDC Mulago referred me to BeadforLife, I asked for directions and there I was. I was told to come back in January 2008 and I did. BeadforLife helped to pay for my tuition at MISD for 2 years for a diploma in counseling and guidance and I will be graduating in August 2010. At the end of the first year in school, Straight Talk foundation asked me to join them in September 2008 as a volunteer after they had published my story in March. I was being paid 10,000 daily and it was really helpful. I managed to look after myself and the people at home. At the end of 2009 I was offered a job as officer for young people and HIV in Straight Talk and I was being paid 350,000/=
At the beginning of this year something incredible happened. I applied for UNAIDS Special Youth Program and I was taken on. We were 700 applicants from the whole world and I managed to be chosen with other two colleagues from Nepal and China.
Currently I am in Geneva Switzerland working in the UN family and I am thankful to God for what he has made me become. He raised me from the dust (Katanga slum) to sit with kings.
Currently I deal with high profile people and they are really supportive. The sky is the limit for me. The lesson I have learnt is that, it really doesn’t matter where we come from and what happened in the past, the best we can do is embrace which ever opportunity which comes before us. In the shortest time (less than 10 years), I have graduated from earning 1500 to 2.550.700 UGX.
Tags: Africa, celebrate, Child Poverty, Education, Empowering Women, Kampala, Poverty Eradication, sustainability, Women Making A Difference
BeadforLife is committed to reducing our environmental footprint. We have created an environmental policy to show the steps that we are taking to reduce, reuse and recycle.
This month in Boulder, Colorado the home of our North American office we are participating in Bike to Work Day! Bike to Work Day celebrates commuters getting out of their cars and trying their bikes to get to work. BeadforLife has decided to take this one step further by encouraging our staff to use alternative transportation to and from work for the entire month of June.
BeadforLife is supporting our staff to personally use alternative transportation by offering individual alternative transportation goals for the month of June along with a team goal. Each person can track their transportation by using a ticker in our office that tracks biking, carpooling and busing individually.
Our BeadParty assistant, Linda Crane also created a fabulous tree that lists each persons name on a separate branch. Individual goals are tracked by putting a leaf stamp on your branch for each time you use alternative transportation.
Join us this June by getting out of your car and using alternative transportation! It’s a great way to stay fit, get some fresh air and see more of your local area.
The BeadforLife Environment Team
Tags: BeadforLife, Boulder, Colorado, Empowering Women, Environment, sustainability, Women Making A Difference
Recently BeadforLife has had the opportunity to collaborate with AVON, selling blue, red, and earth tone bangle bracelets through their catalog. We did this in order to create a larger demand for our Beaders to make jewelry and to broaden our reach to other women throughout the country. Our collaboration with AVON allowed us to purchase thousands more bangle bracelets from our Beaders, thereby allowing us to expand our reach to hundreds of additional impoverished Ugandans.
BeadforLife featured in AVON catalog!
BeadforLife currently works with retail companies including fair trade and museum stores. Each company sets the sales price in order to cover their costs. Regardless of the partnership and how we sell and distribute the jewelry our Beaders are making the same amount for the bangles that they create. By expanding the market and demand for beads, the Beaders have the opportunity to earn more income due to the increased volume. Money in their hands will go directly into feeding their families, getting needed medical care, paying for school fees, and saving to build a home and start a business. In addition, the AVON representatives are also making a living from their work; so in a way, each bracelet purchased is not only supporting a woman in Uganda, but also a woman in America as well.
We feel that AVON’s view on women’s empowerment align with ours and is a good fit. With the inclusion of our website address in AVON’s catalog, we are reaching thousands of women who would otherwise never have known about BeadforLife and our work. Many new friends from AVON are now joining us in our grassroots movement to eradicate poverty by hosting BeadParties, shopping at our web store, and telling the stories of our Beaders. Additionally, the sales of our bangle bracelets also support AVON’s efforts to help women through their philanthropic contributions of over $725 million in fifty countries through their Foundation for Women and their Make a Difference Campaign.
We are excited about our partnership with AVON and hope you are too. We welcome the many new BeadCircle members that just joined us after learning about BeadforLife in their AVON catalog!
As always we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment and share your thoughts about this partnership and any great ideas you have for additional opportunities for BeadforLife.
Tags: Africa, BeadCircle, beaded jewelry, BeadforLife, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, Poverty Eradication, Uganda, Women Making A Difference