 After more than two decades of conflict and dependency on humanitarian aid, the opportunity to earn their own income is transforming our beaders' lives. For example:
- According to the World Bank, the average annual income in Uganda is just US$340 or less than US$1.00 per day. Paper to Pearls beaders earn as much as US$120 per month, more than four times the national average.
This income not only enables our beaders to buy more nutritious food for the families, have access to better health care and send their children to school, but also to have income to spend in their communities.
- Based on our research, which is confirmed by United Nations statistics, we estimate that behind every beader, there are 30 people who benefit from the income she earns.
From buying better sleeping mats for their huts to better clothes from themselves and their children, our beaders' income multiplies again and again as it moves out into the community. It is not surprising that the entire community anticipates the Paper to Pearls' "market days", when we buy our inventory. "Everyone comes to us when they know that Paper to Pearls is here", said one of our beaders. "Everyone is excited."
 Now that our beaders are earning substantial income, it is important that they learn how to manage it. Thus, in order to help them stabilize the income they receive from our purchase of their beads,
- Paper to Pearls provides micro-finance training in the form of basic savings and cash management that is essential to the creation of sustainable businesses.
Since most of the beaders live in rural areas and don't have ready access to banks, each cooperative maintains a communal savings program. Beaders contribute money each month, which is kept in a lock-box and serves as a source of loans the cooperative makes to individual members in need of funds. Meanwhile, we encourage beaders in or near Gulu town to open individual bank accounts and commit to regular deposits on or immediately after market days, when funds are most readily available. |
