Well, it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Why? Well, remember I said I was moving full steam ahead? I've been so busy forming APF that I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog. I have been so blessed to come up with our initial board of directors. African Promise Foundation is now rolling! A little background on what we are doing................APF will work with women in Northern Uganda who make beautiful necklaces out of paper. Each bead is hand rolled and when looking at them you would never guess it was made from paper! By creating jobs that help lift women out of poverty, we estimate that between 20-30 people are affected. How? Women tend to care for those around them. That means if one women is financially stable she will spread her income around to those she loves. Maybe it's her brothers orphaned children, her father, her sister and her family. We have a unique opportunity to possibly work with an organization called Paper to Pearls (papertopearls.org). Barbara Moller, their founder had the same vision I had only 4 years earlier. We are hoping to begin working with her as she already has 3 cooperatives of women making beads for her organization. One of the co-ops is made up of a group of formerly abducted child mothers. After beads are brought to the US, APF will sell the beads at a higher cost. Profits will then be spent on orphan care and other worthy projects in the same women's communities. We are so excited about our new relationship with Paper to Pearls. Barbara will be flying out to Seattle next month to meet with us. Other exciting news! We were able to sell our jewelry at Sassy Mei Boutique two weekends in October and November. I am happy to say that we almost sold out! We generated $1600 dollars. We are now working on getting more product for Christmas. The most exciting news is our upcoming trip to Uganda. In January, our board will travel to Uganda with Paper to Pearls founder Barbara Moller. There we will establish our work and set up operations. We are hoping to bring home 2000 pieces of jewelry. When we return home we will start our web store, begin doing home parties, boutique and craft shows as well as seek retail outlets to sell at. We really believe that we are different from other charities because we are not completely dependant on donations. We generate income just like a business does and more exciting, we create jobs for impoverished women. Don't get me wrong, we gladly accept donations, but we don't fully rely on them which sets us apart. I have also been working hard on getting jewelry here by December 1st. We won't have a lot, but I'm hoping to have 200 pieces, much of which will be bracelets. We will be getting quite a variety including chunky beads which is new to APF. I'll post a picture of the anticipated items. We are seeking volunteers! Do you want to help? Please contact us at suzy@africanpromisefoundation.org, or leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Stay tuned to this blog as it transforms into APF's official blog with a new look!
