2008.10.31
Colonial Avenue Baptist helps the women of Uganda
Beads made by the women of Uganda. Photo by Renee Thornhill
Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to help people across the world that you've never even met? Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, is doing just that with their "Bead for Life" party.
The party will feature beautiful beaded jewelry made of recycled paper by refugees from Northern Uganda’s brutal war and HIV-positive mothers, as a way of lifting their families out of extreme poverty.
The jewelry will be on sale on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the church located at 4165 Colonial Ave. and is sponsored by Colonial Baptist Church's Encouraging Women, Women's ministry group for free.
"We found out about "Bead for Life" last year at a local coffee shop," Melissa Scott, minister of youth and education at the church said. "There are several of us in the church that make jewelry and after having seen the jewelry and hearing the stories of the women in Uganda, we thought it was a great thing to offer to our community and church."
By selling the beads in the community the church is essentially allowing the women of Uganda who hparticipate in the program an opportunity to make an income which in turn pays for food, medicine, school fees for their children, and other developmental community projects, Scott said.
"All of the proceeds go straight back to "Bead For Life"," Scott said. "What we don't sell goes back to them and they will bill us for what we sold. The great thing is it has allowed these women not to have to work so hard in the fields and allows their children to go to school."
This will be the second time that the church has held the "Bead for Life" show. Last march the church held the show, but decided to do one before the holiday season so that people could purchase the beads as gifts.
"It's really a mission project for us and allows us to have fellowship together. The more that people that know about the needs the more that can be done to help them," Scott said.
To learn more about the Bead for Life program, visit their website at www.beadforlife.org and read the stories of the women who make the jewelry. For more information about Colonial Baptist Church's Bead for Life party call 774-2084.
