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