Africa
2011 was a tough year. Tough in Uganda where inflation reached 19%, putting items like sugar out of reach for many families, and tough in America where unemployment soared and many people experienced a shrinking standard of living. As our 2011 holiday initiative, BeadforLife reached out to women in America who are struggling to get [...]
BeadforLife has some BIG plans for the future. Our Board of Directors just authorized a significant scale up of activities in Uganda over the next 5 years with some projects starting as soon as July. Judith Butagira-Tema, our Deputy Director from Uganda, was in Boulder this week to help brainstorm ideas, look at the best [...]
What are your memories of being 12 years old? You may be thinking of the joy (or angst) of being in middle school, learning new things and gaining independence. The impactful and concise Girl Effect illuminates why age 12 is the turning point in a girl’s life in the developing world. At this age, girls [...]
Continue reading about Education Empowers Girls to Leave Poverty Behind
Did you know that “over the past decade six of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries were African?” Did you know that “In eight of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan?” Did you know that “Africa now has a fast-growing middle class?” Did you know that Africa “has more [...]
Since the beginning of the year, the Uganda currency has been falling against the dollar. When I moved to Uganda in 2008, you could get about 1600 shillings per dollar. Now the rate is around 2900. Imagine if two years ago you spent $5.50 for a sandwich and today it cost you $10 – that [...]
Two years ago Suubi and Sanyu groups were enrolled into the BeadforLife program, their faces wore a heaviness that could only be interpreted as sadness, worrying, hopelessness and anxiety. They came and rolled many million beads which became small and big businesses, houses, education for their children, independence, acceptance by the community and families. Recalls [...]
On the morning of 30 October 2010, Aine Margaret, a BeadforLife, Unity group member, was going home after her regular Sunday church service; she did not take her usual route. As she passed by one of the many garbage dumps, a dog started to bark and growl at her, she wondered if the dog had [...]
Sometimes the senseless loss in Uganda threatens to engulf me. Last week, I stopped to give Joseph, a member of our shea soap team, a ride home from work. He had been speaking to an older man, and he told me this was his father. Then slowly as we drove home through a terrible traffic [...]