Life Changing

Last Friday night I attended a fundraiser and jewelry party for the non-profit African Promise Foundation.  A local mother of 5 got interested in the plight of the children in Northern Uganda who were displaced and orphaned as a result of the LRA Army (Kony's Army) and the move to camps by the government to "protect them".  The stories she shared with us and the pictures of the people in camps and orphanages that she is trying to help was of course heart wrenching.  The following video shows just a few pictures taken by her organization on trips to Uganda.  I wish you could hear the stories behind some of the pictures about the kids or people and what they have been through and how they currently suffer.  This is a great video.

African Promise Foundation does a few things- they buy jewelry that is made from beads that the women make from recycled paper and resell them here in the States.  Here are some I bought that night.

These silver beads are made by one woman who collects the silver linings from cigarette boxes.
The women get a fair price for their jewelry and the proceeds from sells are put in a fund to send some of the orphaned children to school.  Because this is such a small organization, 100% of the proceeds and all donations go to fund the kid's schooling.  100%!!  The woman who heads this organization and the board of directors do not get any reimbursement for their time and energy, they put it all towards the cause.  We have donated to a fair share of organizations in the past, and 100% of proceeds going to help a specific cause is just awesome and very rare.

I was so inspired by this tiny foundation.  Our "year of austerity" seems ridiculous.  We can afford to help these kids.  You can send one to school for anywhere from $300-600 a year.  Sounds like a lot of money until I think of that big trip to Costco when I spent $250 a few months ago.  A whole year of school- good school too, with room and board.  

It's hard to see pics of the little boys with distended bellies and think of my baby and his all-around great health and fatness.  But it helps to think of giving up something so that one of these kids can benefit.  If you want to help, go to http://africanpromisefoundation.org/.  If you do one thing only, please read the story of how the African Promise Foundation came to be under the "about" link.  http://africanpromisefoundation.org/about/

It might change your life, it sure did mine!