Dear BeadCircle Friends

We recently launched a shea project with over 800 desperately poor women in Northern Uganda.  These women had been crushed by 20 years of civil war, and lived for years in refugee camps where they depended on aid agencies for a meager existence.  Many of them had husbands killed, children abducted, or family members maimed by the rebels. Some were themselves kidnapped.

For generations, these women and their maternal ancestors have collected shea nuts that fall from wild shea trees.  When pressed, these nuts yield an incredible moisturizing butter prized for cosmetics around the world, and BeadforLife is bringing this butter to the global market to generate household income for the women.

Mary Auma, a member of our first group of beaders, is the BeadforLife staff member in the shea project community. Mary is a daughter of this land, and an obvious person to coordinate our shea efforts in Northern Uganda.

Recently, I visited the field operations with Mary.  We work in a very remote area, and I was likely the only foreigner for miles around. After arriving, we went to greet the local officials, and as we approached the offices we began to hear whispers from womensitting on the porch. 

“Is that her?” 
“I think that is the woman doing great work with the Yao (shea) nut.” 
“I have heard that she is a learned woman from Kampala, but that when she comes to visit us, she sits on our level.”

They were, of course, talking about Mary.

And to me, this is one of the most important indicators of success we have seen.  The local coordinator of our project is known and adored in the local community.  She is humble among the people, and allows them to find the answer to their own problems, by lending a helpful ear. It is not about the foreigners, and what they have brought, but about a true partnership between African women to improve their lives.

On that day, my heart burst with pride for Mary.  I also felt incredibly proud of BeadforLife, the organization you and I and Mary and so many global sisters have built, each doing our small part to make something that is incredible.

Thank you for your love, and look for our new shea soap and lip balm this fall!

Devin Hibbard
Co-Executive Director

Letter From the BeadCircle

“No one knows what their purpose in life is but hosting a BeadParty was one way that we could each give back!  I was really inspired by the BeadforLife story…it was my calling and you can do it too!”

“When I went to work it just took off!”

Patricia Bossard
Baltimore, MD
(Two time BeadParty host)

Click below to host a BeadParty - it's fun, it's easy!

Our Work at a Glance - May 1st, 2010

Current beaders and tailors – 278

Graduated beaders and tailors - 291

Shea nut gatherers – 570

Vocational training students – 115

Sponsored school students – 36

Houses built – 132 houses built and 900 people living in Friendship Village

Curriculum downloaded to
teachers/youth workers – 1000+

Shopping Is Giving:
Suggestions for Great Spring Style!

Spring fashion is about bright colors and fun accessories, so what better way to add a splash of Spring to your wardrobe than with BeadforLife handcrafted paper beads?  They are not only beautiful, but each time you wear our jewelry you are participating in the effort to end extreme poverty. 

Consider incorporating BeadforLife items as gifts at your wedding or graduation.  Your guests will love sharing the story as they celebrate your special day.

Try layering a Short Katogo Necklace and a Long Katogo Necklace wrapped around twice to create this unique, multi-strand look. Only $25 for both necklaces.

Create eye-catching combinations by layering two or more three-strand bracelets in different spring colors. Just $15 each.

For these and other items visit our webstore:
Your purchase will help Ugandan woman raise their families out of poverty. Thank you.

Woman With A Dream: Busingye Joyce

Busingye Joyce is 30 years old, and when she was enrolled in BeadforLife she was staying in Namuwongo, a slum perched on a swamp on the shores of Lake Victoria.  She has two children, a girl and a boy.   Her father died in 1998, when she was in Senior 4 and before she could complete the Uganda Certificate of Education. But in 2001, her brother and the headmistress of the school helped her complete her education.

Joyce at work at the Good Samaritan Health Centre

At enrollment, BeadforLife asks all members what their dreams are. Joyce had two dreams: to build a house and educate herself further to become a healer. Joyce tells us that from a young age she always admired doctors and nurses and secretly yearned to be one. Soon after enrollment, she started saving money for the house she wanted so badly at the BeadforLife Friendship Village in Mukono.  Indeed, within a year she was living in her own house and planting her garden.  Then tragedy struck when she lost her husband soon after
moving in.

However, this did not kill her desire to continue with her education, and she used her bead earnings to enroll at the Good Samaritan Health Centre in Mukono as a Nursing Assistant.  She has been trained in immunizations, common diseases and treatment, wound dressing, record taking and laboratory skills.

Now Joyce would like to add to her Nursing Assistant profession by studying midwifery.  She is applying to Midwifery School and when she gets in we will be asking for a sponsor(s) to help her with these expenses.  

YOU GO GIRL!