Sartorial Saturday: Eradicating Poverty One Bead at a Time

Image by NatalieMaynor via Flickr

Everyone loves gorgeous beads (go on, you know you do!) and the beads at BeadforLife are definitely gorgeous!

BeadforLife is an amazing organisation that works with impoverished women in Uganda to help lift them out of poverty. Their beaders make gorgeous handcrafted paper beads from recycled paper and turn them into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, so what was trash becomes beauty, money, food, and hope.

BeadforLife isn't just giving aid to people in need. Instead they are helping them to take some control over their lives and support themselves.

"Our goal is for our members to be independent of BeadforLife within 27 months by being able to support themselves within the Ugandan economy. To assist members in launching their own small businesses or in creating new revenue streams, we provide entrepreneurial training, facilitate savings accounts, and make business funds available.

In addition to buying and selling the beads, BeadforLife sponsors Community Development projects in health, vocational training for impoverished youth, affordable housing, and business development. These projects are supported with the net profits from the sale of the beads, and support not only beaders, but other impoverished people living in Uganda."

You can buy these beautiful beads online . . . or you can host your own Bead Party. You can also donate to BeadforLife (and 93 cents of every $1 you donate goes to community development work fighting extreme poverty!).