What an amazing and unexpected opportunity, that would mean so much to the women of northern Uganda, especially since it would enable us substantially expand our program. I'm thinking at this moment about our newest group of beaders―20 child mothers in the Gulu municipality. A wonderful local woman, Miriam Awachange, is currently supporting them and their children, and has brought them the basics of beading. Now it's our turn. Over the next ten days we will give them in-depth training to develop and refine their skills so that we can incorporate their work into the Paper to Pearls inventory.
The child mother situation in northern Uganda is acute. These are young girls who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, used as sex slaves or wives and now, with children of their own, are slowly moving out of the bush and trying to return home. Much of the time, however, they are ostracized because they are "dirty" and their children have "bad blood", and have to exist at the margins of their camp communities.
Women like Miriam are a Godsend for these girls, and we are thrilled to be able to support her. The girls need education for themselves and their children; and they sorely need income. Miriam has been selling their necklaces as best she could on the streets of Gulu. Through Paper to Pearls they will have a true market and can begin earning the income that will begin transforming their lives and those of their children.
We have determined that behind every Paper to Pearls beader there are 30 people who benefit from their efforts. The My Space award would enable us to train approximately 135 new beaders, among them many child mothers. Thus the total number in the community who would benefit comes to over 4,000. And this because of the initiative and efforts of a growing number of women who are creating items of beauty where once there was despair.
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( 3 / 320 )On October 14th, Barbara will be at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA to present the Paper to Pearls jewelry and talk about the project. The African Caribbean Association is hosting the event.
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( 2.9 / 278 )Paper to Pearls is taking over education, one school at a time! In early February, The Recycle Club at the George C. Round elementary school in Manassas, Virginia took on the challenge of learning what it is like to be one of our Ugandan beaders. Starting from scratch, they learned to properly cut magazine paper, roll it into beads and create a necklace design. Having learned the technique, they then became Paper to Pearls spokespersons (spokeschildren?), creating a sales display and offering a selection of our own beaders' necklaces to friends, family, and teachers. So what did they learn? First, that Ugandan women have found a beautiful way to recycle old paper. Second, that it takes a lot of time, technique, and talent to make the beautiful necklaces. Finally, this project drove home how much $15 — the price of a single strand necklace — means to a woman who just wants to support her family.
;)
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( 3 / 266 )Soroptimist of Greater Boston will be hosting a Harvest Fair on October 19th with Paper to Pearls jewelry items and beads for sale. So if you are in the Boston area, please stop by. Soroptimist is an international organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Here are the details:
Newton Harvest Fair
Newton Centre Green - at Langley and Centre Streets
October 19, 2008 from 11AM to 5PM
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( 3 / 309 )The care that it takes to roll a good bead amazes me. It was storming outside the day I sat down to learn how. I was in the northern Ugandan town of Gulu, inside the center that houses the Ugandan end of Paper to Pearls. Here the paper is cut for distribution to the beaders and here all the necklaces are assembled and packaged for shipment to the States. Olivia, the Center receptionist and all-purpose person, Isaac, the paper cutter, myself and Charity, Paper to Pearls new buyer, decided to wait out the storm by rolling beads. I don't know why I thought it would be easy. Long triangular strips of paper. Check. A toothpick to get the rolling started and provide a hole through which to string the beading filament. Check. No need for spacer beads or clasps, this was just practice in rolling different shaped beads. It surprised me that different shapes could be rolled from the same paper strip, depending on how the strip was rolled, and how many layers of paper strips were used. The thunder outside was distracting, but we persevered. Isaac finished his first, but I was certain he had prior practice. A large "tire" bead, one of my favorites. I practiced rolling the "firecracker" beads that make such a fun necklace when combined with round beads. Fairly easy. Now a large round bead that, for all my efforts, really wanted to be elongated instead. And so we passed several hours, until the waning light forced us to stop. The electricity had gone off long before.
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