The beads are sold across Uganda and at the BeadforLife headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. They are also sold online and at jewelry shows called bead parties.
TORKIN WAKEFIELD: "Because they have meaning, because these are gifts that help people, folks in America and beyond, when they buy our beads they feel a sense of generosity. They feel a direct connection, like they can really participate in eradicating poverty."
Acrylic plastic is used to harden the paper. The jewelry costs between five and thirty dollars. BeadforLife reported sales in its last budget year of more than three and a half million dollars. It says for every ten dollar necklace sold, the beader gets two dollars and forty-three cents in money or materials.
It says more than ninety percent of earnings are reinvested in community development projects in Uganda. Torkin Wakefield estimates that BeadforLife has helped more than eight thousand people this way.
So what about Millie Grace Akena, the jewelry maker? Mrs. Wakefield says she has gone on to organize a small group of women who work with her, and they sell their beads to a religious group.
And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25