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| Grass-roots enterprise: BeadForLife employees converge on program cofounder Ginny Jordan (c.), who records the value of their
beads on a computer. Jessica Scranton  BeadForLife: Papercraft path out of poverty |
In Africa, a papercraft path out of poverty
Poor Ugandan women turn their lives around by handcrafting for BeadForLife, a small Colorado-based nonprofit group.
from the October 31, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
BeadForLife bought 18 acres near Mukono, a prime location on the outskirts of Kampala with access to roads and schools. So far, 37 houses have been completed and two wells dug. A garbage-recycling center and a soccer field have also been built. The goal is to erect 80 to 120 homes in the next two years. Beaders secure plots with an $800 downpayment.
One week before the opening ceremonies for the completion of the first 10 houses, Wakefield escorted a reporter through an almost-finished group of new homes. She was met on the dirt road overlooking the village by a half dozen beaders. They hugged her and smiled. Tears of gratitude welled in their eyes.
The women led Wakefield to their houses, touching the walls and dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. "It is fantastic, just unbelievable," said Wakefield about the 37 new homes and families in the new village. "[The women] are ecstatic; their children are going to school. They have a clean water supply, the air is clean. They have been reborn."
Wakefield admits that they have not yet proven that their intended self-sustaining system works. The first group to join two years ago will graduate in January. However, she reports that 70 percent of the women have launched small businesses while still part of BeadForLife. "Next year, we will be evaluating where our success and challenges lie, and we feel really good about the progress made thus far.," she says.
And Mary? She was selected to be one of the first to create her house in the new village. She screamed with excitement when she found out she would be able to have her own home. "The village will be good and I will be the happiest there. I will have a small garden and start a tailor shop. No one will knock on my door for rent, and everyone will work together," she says ecstatically.
For more information, see: www.beadforlife.org
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