Africa

Alecia McClure on February 20th, 2012

Consider this:  Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70% are girls  (The Girl Effect) One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15 (USAID) Gender inequality continues to be a pervasive global issue, especially when it comes to education. We know that girls who stay in school through their teenage years [...]

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Georgia Fowler on February 14th, 2012

To most Americans, Valentine’s Day is known as the holiday for expressing love to one another. But to thousands of women and men around the world February 14th is V-Day, which stands for much more than chocolates and flowers.  V-Day is part of a global movement to end violence against women and girls. Volunteers around [...]

Continue reading about BeadforLife and V-Day: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

Karen McKenna on February 9th, 2012

The BeadforLife team was finishing up home visits to the members in Iganga when we met Eseza, a malnourished four year old girl with severe burns along the right side of her face. Her right eye was entirely burned shut.  Eseza  had fallen into a pot of hot beans at a neighbor’s house three days earlier. [...]

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Korri Roach on February 8th, 2012

Our 100% natural shea butter is from the Vitellaria Paradoxa sub species nilotica which grows across Northern Uganda. With higher olien content than West African shea, nilotica is a silky smooth product high in vitamins A, E and F. The shea trees grow wild across Northern Uganda, and for generations the nuts have been collected [...]

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BeadforLife Staff on January 31st, 2012

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 [...]

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Devin Hibbard on January 30th, 2012

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 [...]

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Alecia McClure on January 19th, 2012

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

Korri Roach on December 20th, 2011

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 [...]

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BeadforLife Staff on October 18th, 2011

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 [...]

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Devin Hibbard on October 11th, 2011

Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs died last week, and although I’m not a Mac user or part of the cult of Apple, I’ve been thinking a lot about the impact he had on the world.  What made Jobs a visionary is not that he created functionality – in fact, there were lots of gadgets that [...]

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