Today, I have decided to focus on the mothers or caregivers of some of the children in our program. There are a group of women who have been coming to the In-Need Home for 2 years to work on a small business venture........Bead Making. They create these wonderful looking beads, completly by hand, and then try to sell them to earn some money for food for their families. They all live in Namuwongo, and we have given priority to their children to attend our program. During their time together, they are taught business practices such as material cost vs selling cost, inventory management, etc. However, for me, the really facinating part of this story is how they make the beads.
Believe it or not, these beads are made entirely of paper. They use clossy, magazine pages. These pages are cut in particularly shaped strips. Starting at the pointy end of the paper strip, they roll, onto a string, with infinite patience, the entire strip into a small, ball/cylindrical shape. The color of the bead is dependant on the printed material that was on the magazine page. Once they have created a long strand of these paper beads, they dip them into varnish.....repeating the dipping several times. They are then hung to dry for several days. A very hard, glossy bead has then been created. They then separate these beads and create wonderful necklaces, earings, bracelets, small baskets, etc. They are truly beautiful. It is hard to believe that the finished product has actually been made out of paper!
If any of our teacher volunteers are reading today's BLOG, it would be helpful if you could bring as many glossy magazines as you can carry. The women must buy these pages from someone else who has scrounged them elsewhere, thereby diminishing their profits. Everyone is trying to make a few Ugandan shillings. I will be bringing back to Montreal a stock of these necklaces,bracelets and earings to use a fundraisers with a portion of the profit going back directly to these Bead Women of the In-Need Home. The pictures that acompany this Blog really do not do justice to the beauty of their product. Feel free to conatct me at my email address (oppih@vdn.ca) if you wish to purchase any, or arrange for a BEAD PARTY to help raise funds for the Namuwongo Literacy Project. By helping the moms, we are helping the children!
3 comments:
Dear Muzungu,
The last few entries have been stellar. With every entry you give us a peek into the lives of these remarkable people. While we run through traffic of our everyday lives the story you are telling is absolutely mesmerizing. Why am I not surprised THAT YOU STARTED YOUR SCHOOL BEAD PROGRAM all the way in Africa! LoL
At first I was wondering why there are so few comments when there are so many supporters. But where do you start? How can you comment on something that is so large and difficult to comprehend? I find my thoughts racing while my mind tries to make sense of it all. I have stopped trying because I’ve realized that I can’t. What I can do is find peace in knowing that you are there with your team helping the best way you know how. It is proof to me how even the smallest act of kindness can tumble into such positive energy that I’m sure the momentum will lift the weight off of what your team is trying to accomplish.
I came across a list of the ten most evil people in history the other day. Here is number 8.
8. Idi Amin - Idi Amin Dada Oumee (born in 1924 in Uganda) was the military officer and president (1971-79) of Uganda. Amin also took tribalism, a long- standing problem in Uganda, to its extreme by allegedly ordering the persecution of Acholi, Lango, and other tribes. Reports indicate torture and murder of 100,000 to 300,000 Ugandans during Amin's presidency. In 1972, he began to expel Asians from Uganda. God, he said, had directed him to do this. (Acutally, he had been angered by the refusal of one of the country's most prominent Asian families, the Madhvanis, to hand over their prettiest daughter as his fifth wife.) Over the years, Ugandans would disappear in the thousands, their mutilated bodies washing up on the shores of Lake Victoria. Amin would boast of being a "reluctant" cannibal - human flesh, he said, was too salty. He once ordered that the decapitation of political prisoners be broadcast on TV, specifying that the victims "must wear white to make it easy to see the blood". One of Amin's guards, Abraham Sule, said: "[Amin] put his bayonet in the pot containing human blood and licked the stuff as it ran down the bayonet. Amin told us: 'When you lick the blood of your victim, you will not see nightmares.' He then did it."
As the Sergeant from Hill Street Blues used to say, “Be safe out there”.
Love,
David
Hi Howard,
Your stories are wonderful and so are those beautiful bead creations. I would be willing to purchase some necklaces and bracelets and I would host a party or bring them to our community pool. Too bad we didn't know that these women needed magazines for this wonderful project.
I don't know how you are going to leave without wanting to take those adorable children back with you, especially Jofrey. I'm sure being there is like being on a wonderful emotional roller coaster. Keep writing and as always stay safe
Ellen Dennick
Wow David...what an evil man. There's so much we don't know about the history of Africa. I was shocked when i read your comment. I think we should do something with your dad and help out in some way. How about we look up the 10 most positive and fascinating people in history who changed the world in a good way!!! Maybe your dad will be on that list...
Marissa
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