Beads that transform lives

These paper beads are handmade by women in the IDP (internally displaced Persons) in Uganda.
While most people are familiar with the term refugee, IDP is less know. The difference is a refugee is someone that was forced to flee their home country to go and live in a different country. An IDP is someone that was forced out of their home, but stayed in the same country. The war in northern Uganda forced thousands of people to flee their villages to seek refuge and safety in the UN run IDP camps around Gulu. The camps are overcrowded and often unsanitary, but they are far less dangerous than the villages where these people are from.

Women in the camps started making beads from magazine pages. These beads are colorful, unique and look great and once they have been rolled into the classic bead shape, they are varnished. The money raised from these beads goes to directly help women in the camps to feed their families.