Poverty
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 [...]
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 [...]
Two of the services we offer in our BeadforLife health program are family planning and deworming for the entire family. Currently the average woman in Uganda will bear at least 7 children, many of whom will die in infancy. This repeated child bearing often saps the health of the mother and impoverishes the family who [...]
One of the hardest issues we confront has to do not with poor nutrition, lack of education or ill health. The hardest issue is dealing with people who have a dependency mindset. For much of the past 20 years, Uganda has received a huge amount of foreign assistance – in some years it made up [...]
We received the most heartfelt letter recently from a supporter of BeadforLife named, Robin Seiz. Robin is the creator of More of You Designs….Creating Jewelry to Create Possibilities and she uses BeadforLife beads in her unique handmade jewelry creations. Robin connected with BeadforLife as a way to join her talent and love of jewelry making [...]
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Andrew and Jillian met while Andrew was coaching a soccer camp at Jillian’s church. They had heard about each other for years, but hadn’t actually met until Andrew stopped by Jillian’s office at the end of the summer two years ago. That visit sparked six months of long distance communication, multiple cross continental visits and [...]
Continue reading about In honor of Valentine’s Day… a BeadforLife Love Story!