1000 Shillings!!!!

Great news on the bead front!! These women are amazing! They are so excited and motivated to make the necklaces. We started working with them to improve the designs of their necklaces and it is better than anticipated! They look great! Last year the women were taught how to make paper beads but then were left with no market to sell them in. Here in Mbale and surrounding areas, the market is pretty saturated. So the women of Namatala had this new skill but they had no place to sell and became super discouraged. Our goal was to help them differentiate themselves and gain new skills. Then we decided we wanted to give them access to a global marketplace and have decided to start a business! We have named it 1000 Shillings (the amount of money the families in Namatala live off a day - about $0.40) . This new international market will give these women the opportunity to supplement their incomes.  We also want to be able to tell the story of each of these women and their families and communities. It will be like a travel magazine mixed with an ecommerce site. 

Meet the ladies!!!  

This is Veronica, she is the happiest lady ever! I love her smile! She is so willing to learn and is easy to laugh. We had the opportunity on Saturday to go and see her house and meet her family. Her husband left her awhile back and we couldn't distinguish quite how many children she actually has but she takes care of at least 10 kids. The kids were out working in the field and we got to go visit them and see them at work.

This is Ida. She is our rock star! She is the only one of the ladies that had continued from last year. She has been making beads and trying to sell them in her spare time (which isn't a lot). She picked the most complicated of the designs we offered and is doing super well! Her necklace had 730 beads! She is very dedicated and wants to own her own business one day. I really think she can. She tries to sell charcoal now but most of the time doesn't make a profit. We want to start teaching them business skills so that one day Ida and the rest of the women will be able to stand on their own as confident business women.

This is Esther. She is so funny. She loves to laugh and was so proud of her first necklace. She has been living in Namatala since her husband "chased her out" as she told me. She speaks English but is super shy. She was my partner this last week and we put this necklace together as a team! When it's finished the top with have a leather strap or possibly braided african fabric. We are really excited about this one!

Martha came out of nowhere! The first time we met with the bead ladies there were only 5 of them. Then one day Martha showed up and we are happy to have her! She is so on top of the game that when we met last not only had she completed her homework of making enough beads for her assigned necklace- but she had already varnished them! She is also quick to smile and has really good English. We got to meet all of her kids on Saturday as well. It was really cool to talk to them and see their mom's influence. She is a great asset to 1000 Shillings!

 This is Elizabeth, I admit we were a little worried about her at first- but she has turned out to be a front runner! I love her necklace! Rebecca was paired up with her last week and they had a lot of fun making what we affectionately call The Elizabeth. She is very shy and timid at first and then opens up and loves laughing with the women. I think the women appreciate this time together beading- maybe it helps them to forget for just a minute.

This is Annette. I absolutely love her. She is so friendly and has one of the cutest babies in the world! She is always wearing that neon green do-rag (spelling?) and it makes me laugh. She is usually right on time for our meetings (which is a definite accomplishment in uganda! ugandans tend to be at least an hour late! admittedly!)

These women are so great and I am excited to start being able to sell their stuff. It will make such a huge difference in their lives! Hopefully rent, school fees, food, and running their businesses won't be so much of a problem anymore! Plus I think I might of found something that I would actually be happy doing with my life... as seen by past experiences i'm not really great at staying in one place- but right now I have a yr and a half plan and I don't even feel claustrophobic about it! I get to combine my love of traveling with my love of photography. We want to branch out to different countries and spotlight collections from different women's groups all over the world. Rebecca has connections in Nepal so we want to start there after Uganda, but are also interested in going to women in the United States, as well as Mexico for this year. I'm excited for the opportunity to tell these women's stories- the aim is to let you get to know her as I have. I think this is such a cool concept! So...stay tuned!