AIDS, What Did I Do to You?
By Namakasa Alice, age 9, orphan
AIDS!
AIDS! AIDS!
Who is to blame?
AIDS what do you want?
People of the world! This is a serious disease to note.
It is killing us. Young, old, big, thin, and small. Oh! God help us.
AIDS is finishing us. What crime did we commit?
All of the parents died of AIDS
And we are staying with grandparents who are helpless.
AIDS
What did I do to you?
~
Note from the Director Torkin Wakefield
Sometimes someone dares to have a really audacious idea, one that could change the world. One such idea that is gracing the planet right now is that it is possible to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by the year 2020. Do you believe this is possible? Someone did.As 1999 gave way to 2000 the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals, a set of 8 principles to act as beacons to focus a world wide endeavor creating, what Kofi Anaan called, a "blue print for building a better world." He asked professor economist Jeffrey Sachs how it could be done.
Imagine sitting down to think about how to solve the issue of global poverty. It's a big task. Sachs has come up with a five-year project to study and refine what it takes to bring an adequate standard of living to ordinary villages. This project is called the Millennium Village Project and its focus is in Africa where 46.4 % of the people live on less than $2 US a day. Nine countries are part of this research and 74 villages are partners in receiving assistance and self help projects.
The inputs are straightforward; high yield seeds, fertilizers, mosquito nets, school lunch, basic health care including prenatal services, improved infrastructure and communications. The cost is affordable, a fraction of what is being spent in Iraq right now. The cost will be less than $200 per person per year.
In mid January Jeffrey and Sonia Sachs and their team visited Uganda to see the progress and the challenges in their test site villages. Because BeadforLife is one of the funders of the Ugandan village cluster I was able to join them for their tour. There are impressive results after 6 months: harvest yields have more than doubled, school enrollment is up, and sickness from malaria is down.
Torkin, Jeffrey and Sonia SachsWatching the Sachs and their Ugandan team in action confirmed my good feeling about their BIG idea and especially about the work we are doing at BeadforLife. All of us in the Bead Circle are part of this good work too because BeadforLife is one of the sponsors of the Millennium Promise. In other words all the necklaces that you party hostesses and events givers sold is turning into funds that, in part, support this valiant effort to really abolish poverty.
This is our work at BeadforLife. People are leaving poverty behind one family at a time…learning a vocation, getting a job, getting family planning, eating nutritious food, putting money into a savings account, launching small businesses, building homes in the new village. It takes hard work, partnership, friendship, and a bit of boldness and grace.
Good work all of us.
Torkin Wakefield
Florence and
Francesca
Lily, Anna
and Erica
Mothers and
daughters
Beauty in
all
Mothers and Daughters
To honor Mother's day we are featuring two sets of mothers and daughters,
all part of the Bead Circle.
Meet Florence
and Francesca
When Florence came to present her newborn to the BeaforLife staff she
was was all crunched up and new from heaven. Florence had brought her
new born to Torkin with the honoring request that she bestow a name on
her daughter.
And so she
received the name Francesca, probably the only one in Uganda. Now Francesca
is almost two and her parents are building a home in the new
BeadforLife village where she will have a better chance to have a
life free from the poverty that her parents have known.
Florence is married to a man who has two wives. Her co-wife, Jessica,
is like a sister and is also a beader. They help each other with their
children. Jessica's baby was born with a clubfoot but through proper orthopedic
attention we are hopeful he will overcome this. Soon he will be running
and playing with his half sister Francesca.
Meet Erica,
Anna, and Lilly
In March Erica, and her daughters Anna and Lilly visited BeadforLife members
in Uganda. They reside in Boulder, Colorado.
From Lily,
age 13:
"The trip to Uganda was life-changing showing me corners of the world
that filled my heart with emotion. I never thought such beauty could exist
with such desperate poverty. As a 13 year old, I feel that there is such
possibility for all the world's children if people would give them a chance
to be educated. This is what will change their future. I will forever
think of the people and their amazing faces. The smiles on children's
faces who have nothing puts life back in perspective."
From Anna,
age 16:
"The
trip to Uganda allowed me to really step out of myself by being with people
who are so resilient and generous in their bleak circumstances. I was
able to return to my life with a newfound understanding that I am someone
in the US who has all the resources and ability to make anything happen.
I surprised myself at how much I loved the culture and the people. I will
forever remain infatuated with the incredible richness of this experience."
From Erica Shafroth:
"It was affirming to see, first hand, the unique and brilliant model
that BeadforLife is in its home land, and how it is actively empowering
so many women and their families to rise out of poverty. The people of
Uganda taught me so much about the complex issues of extreme poverty,
about resilience and being present in the moment. I left Uganda with a
renewed commitment to my own activism on behalf of the world's most impoverished
people, and specifically to the women and children - to work harder on
their behalf, to sell more of their beautiful beads, and to continue to
tell their extraordinary stories."
BeadforLife
on YouTube
Beadforlife now has a YouTube site! A recent documentary on BeadforLife
has been posted, containing interviews with beaders and the project founders,
beadmaking, details on how the project works and coverage of a BeadParty.
Please spread the word - let your friends know about it by clicking
here.
To view the documentary on YouTube click here.
Take Action!
Through the Millennium Goals and Millennium Village Project we know what works and have a detailed strategy to halve extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1 a day) by 2015.The United Nations Millennium Development Goals uses proven strategies that work to end extreme poverty based on years of investing in development. This plan would pay for teachers, health clinics, crop fertilizers, and other critical interventions that help the poor help themselves out of poverty.
What is missing is not the roadmap, but the political will and funding to implement the plan.
Rich countries have repeatedly committed to allocate one seventh of one percent (.7%) of their national budget to fund the MDGs. Yet the US currently allocates only .2% despite many promises otherwise.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to BELIEVE that we CAN cut extreme poverty in half by the year 2015 with proven and effective interventions.
Learn more: The Goals and Why .7%
If you know it can be done, let others know as well. TELL 3 FRIENDS. ASK YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS to put the funding in place to help people worldwide take the first steps out of poverty.
Shopping is Giving - Remember Your Mother!
With Mother's Day just around the corner share the spirit and joy of the Ugandan women with your mother or daughter. BeadforLife items connect women from around the world and encourage women to share the stories of their lives. It's a great way to honor mothers who are doing the important work of raising children. Please also remember BeadforLife when looking for gifts with meaning for graduations, teachers' presents and for wedding or bridal shower favors.We are offering a special Mother's Day promotion - a free gift bag! To receive your jewelry in a gift bag enter the code mom in the Promo field at checkout. This promotion will continue through May 20th but to ensure delivery by Mother's day please order by May 7th, and your items will be wrapped in a lovely gift bag.
Ideal Spring Gifts:
- Bangle bracelets look great worn in a multitude of bright, juicy colors $5
- 3 strand bracelets give an elegant and classy look to any outfit $15
- BeadforLife Note Cards offer exquisite images that show the strength and perseverance of the women in Uganda $12
Check out these and other items at our webstore.
Your gift gives twice; once to the lucky recipient and once to the woman who made the bead.
If you would like to share your experience with the rest of the Bead Circle send your letter to Torkin@beadforLife.org. We will try to publish at least one letter in each Bead.
Hello all!
I just wanted to let you know I rec'vd my order. This is the second order I have placed and I will order more - I know! When I unwrapped each of these precious items, I felt something in my heart. I can't describe exactly what it is. It however reminded me of the feeling I had when I held my first child in my arms. I guess I felt the soul of the women that have created these wonderful gems. I literally sat and cried for a few minutes wondering why life has to be so hard on some people. I felt an overwhelming closeness to these creators of the jewelry. Thank you so much! Please, please thank these wonderful women that persevere in spit of what life has given them. They are MY heroes.
Sincerely,
Lucy Brandt
Bead Circle Member
