I wasn’t exactly looking for something like BeadforLife when I stumbled upon it my sophomore year of college. “I want to do something with Africa,” I told professor McLean that day in her office. As a young aspiring journalist turned anthropologist, I knew I wanted to make a difference. Never in 100 years did I expect to find something so beautiful.
I was scared to death the day Erin Fischer and Sarah McCall graduated from University of Colorado Boulder and left the BeadforLife CU student group in my hands. There was no way I was letting the project fade away. We had raised around $5000 that first year! We hosted the GULU WALK (an international peace walk for the children of Northern Uganda), held movie screenings and tabled at large events such as The Bioneers Fair and World AIDS Day. Our name was out there on campus, people were wearing BeadforLife jewelry and most importantly we were making connections with women half way across the world in a country none of us had even stepped foot in (well, besides Erin and Sarah). People would tell me “I feel connected to these (Ugandan) women when I touch the beads” or “I love knowing I can help someone by wearing something so beautiful.”
I had a once in a lifetime opportunity in the summer of 2008 to solidify my incredible, yet distant, connection with the beaders. Riding side saddle on the back of my boda boda (scooter), I arrived promptly at a beautiful white colonial house, the office of BeadforLife Uganda, the workplace of Collins and all the other wonder staff members across the ocean. Never in my life had I seen so many vibrant colors strung from all facets of a room and gathered in large woven baskets.
Bead Sale in Uganda
Every two weeks the women from different “beader groups” would bring their beads to sell. You could tell this was always a happy day in their lives. The morning started with dancing, singing and prayers; rejoicing for what BeadforLife had brought them and praying for the members that were sick and struggling. No woman is denied a sale. Each woman knew she would go home that evening with money in her pocket and more tucked away in her newly developed savings account, a form of independence that many of us take for granted on this side of the ocean. It is at that house that women learn a trade, perfect it and pass on their knowledge, confidence and the importance of education to their children.
I would consider BeadforLife the initial stepping-stone for my interest in international relations. It enlightened me into a world full hope and accomplishment. At the end of the day, when I am reading about war and conflict in Africa and feeling disheartened and discouraged, I remember that although the world may not be fixed, and may never be, there is at least a one group out there protecting hundreds of impoverished women. These women will never forget BeadforLife. To me BeadforLife was a stepping-stone into my future, for them it was their future. If ever given the opportunity to go to Kampala or Uganda or anywhere in Africa, take it. Never in your life will meet people with so little, yet willing to give so much. It’s a lesson we could all use to learn and it’s a step in the right direction. One day soon, we, the young BeadforLife CU student group members, will be making the decisions in this world and I am confident that our unique past experience will help us fight for the women who provided us with so much.
- Chelsea Burns
Chelsea graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. She graduated with a double major in international affairs and anthropology. After becoming interested in both Africa and the Non-Profit world, she decided to join BeadforLife her sophomore year of college. The following year she became the co-leader of the CU Student Chapter.
While volunteering with BeadforLife she explored many different aspects of the organization. Besides promoting the organization on campus, she also volunteered in the Boulder office, tabled at local events around Colorado, and traveled to Kampala where she spent a couple of weeks volunteering in the Uganda office.
Currently, Chelsea lives in Washington, D.C. and works for the Enough Project, an anti-genocide, crimes against humanity advocacy group. She plans to continue work in the Non-Profit field and eventually continue her studies in international affairs and peace and conflict studies.
Tags: Africa, BeadCircle, BeadforLife, Boulder, Colorado, Empowering Women, paper jewelry, poverty, Poverty Eradication, Uganda, University of Colorado, Volunteer, Women Making A Difference