The Beads of Hope Necklace

Beads of Hope

In honor of today being Blog Action Day, Capitola Girl would like to encourage her family and friends to make a purchase from the good folks at the Bead for Life project. And, if you don’t want to buy these eco-friendly beads for yourself, why not buy a little something special for someone else? Here is why Capitola Girl is asking you to support Bead for Life:

In third world countries around the globe, extreme poverty is not just an inability to buy a house, fine food, music, or clothes. For those who live in poverty, it is not just sad stories of men and women lacking food, shelter, or adequate healthcare--they are stories of loving and caring people with real families, living their daily lives under extreme hardship, and facing the daily challenges of survival with little or no reason for hope. This is why Capitola Girl was excited when she learned about the Bead for Life project--a community development organization in Colorado helping women in Northern Uganda increase their income through beading.

Why does Capitola Girl think that the work the Bead for Life group does is so important? Because in Uganda, war and HIV aren’t just stories that you watch on TV, and forget about after finishing dinner or going to bed. War and HIV touches every part of of these women's daily lives, and if you'd read some of the stories in the Bead for Life Newsletter, you would see what Capitola Girl is so passionate about.

Did you know that unlike women in the U.S., most Ugandan women miraculously survive on less than two dollars a day? Can you even imagine what that might be like? In addition, many of the women in the Bead for Life project are widowed, sole supporters who are forced to leave their children behind with families in order to ensure that their babies get fed. Also consider that with extreme poverty, comes violence, not just the violence of war, but domestic violence. Yet despite all this hardship, the women you'll meet through the Bead for Life project have smiles on their faces--beacause earning income through beading has offered these women something that we here in America have not had to fathom living without--it offers hope.

Your generous donations can help the Bead for Life project improve people's lives, so please don't just forget about today's post. The colorful beads on this necklace, anklet and earring set were purchased by Capitola Girl out of nothing more than sheer awe for people associated with the Bead for Life Project. It's meant to celebrate the amazing ingenuity, spirit, and resolve of the ladies who turn recycled magazine paper, like the catalogs we toss out, into beautiful, colorful, and magical beads of life and hope.

Capitola Girl strongly urges you to visit the Bead for Life Store, and buy some beads or jewelry while you are online. And, if any family and friends ever feel that you must do something nice for your favorite beader (a.k.a., me!), please consider how a donation or purchase to support Bead for Life might be of greater good. For more information about the Bead for Life project, here's how you can help.

Like what you read? Then, check out this previous post: Meet Some Beaders with a Cause.