Acholi Beads http://acholibeads.com Wear their beads. Share their story. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:14:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 Uganda Dispatch: A Welcome of Joy and Sorrow http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/uganda-dispatch-a-welcome-of-joy-and-sorrow/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/uganda-dispatch-a-welcome-of-joy-and-sorrow/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:14:10 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=479 [My mom, sister, bro-in-law, and niece recently arrived in Uganda to work with our Ugandan partners. I'd like to share some of our stories with you.]

Biola always smiles when we greet each other.  She smiles and laughs and almost dances and like a contagion it spreads to my face and all the people around us join in the small burst of celebration.  On our first day in Acholi Quarters she had clapped her hands up and laughed and we hugged and she used her little English and I my little Acholi to tell each other how happy we were to be there together.

But yesterday when I went into her home she did not smile.  She did not move, did not look up, but sat in sculpture on the concrete floor, letting a steady rain of tears speak loudly for her.  At the previous day’s celebration she had danced with all the copious joy that she brings to life, leading her fellow bead makers in displaying the beauty of Acholi culture and their pride in their recent accomplishments.  They had given my family and I a welcome that none of us will forget.

But it had been too much.  Now she could not stand, could only sit shivering on the ground, struggling to lift a bottle of water to her parched lips.

Biola came from northern Uganda when her embattled imune system began to fail.  Kampala, Uganda’s capital, offered better medical care, proximity to her son George, and hope for a better life.  When I met her she was a robust 60, still working in the rock quarry with a strength that would have been stunning from a healthy woman half her age.  And when she began making Acholi Beads I saw her innate joy boil over and splash its color all around her.  HIV, however, is no forgetful foe.  It always returns.

George called a car to come and he and his friends carried his grimacing mother down the steep, graveled hillside.  She collapsed into the back seat, resting on a shoulder, unmoving.  At the hospital last night I sat on an old, disembodied Toyota bench seat, struggling in the dim light to discern the rise and fall of her grey blanket.  Today she remains in the hospital, slightly improved but still weak.

It is a bitter reminder that despite their ascension our women remain vulnerable to the specters of their long, ragged past - disease, poverty, lack of education.  Life change does not happen quickly, community change takes years.

We are committed.

On this trip we will continue to refine our business to benefit those who need it the most - our Ugandan partners.  We will help them create a healthcare solution, ensure that their incomes are sufficient and well-used, and look towards the future with continued education in finance, health, and the value of school.

And we hope and pray that Biola will continue to spill her joy on our Acholi Beads family for many years to come.

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/uganda-dispatch-a-welcome-of-joy-and-sorrow/feed/ Lobby Days/ Pre-Uganda Update http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/lobby-days-pre-uganda-update/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/lobby-days-pre-uganda-update/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:52 +0000 betsycurtis http://acholibeads.com/?p=476

Lobby Days / Pre-Uganda Update from James Pearson on Vimeo.

A quick update from Washington DC about Lobby Days and and my family’s trip to Uganda. Plus big news about new bead makers!

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/06/lobby-days-pre-uganda-update/feed/ New Senate Bill Seeks Peace for Northern Uganda, Credits Invisible Children http://acholibeads.com/2009/05/new-senate-bill-seeks-peace-for-northern-uganda-credits-invisible-children/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/05/new-senate-bill-seeks-peace-for-northern-uganda-credits-invisible-children/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 18:54:40 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=448 This week Senator Russ Feingold introduced a new bill to the Senate that, if passed, will accelerate the United States’ involvement in ending the atrocities of the Lord’s Resistance Army and aiding the victims of their decades long war in northern Uganda.

In his statement introducing the bill, Senator Feingold credits the efforts of “young Americans” in bringing the distant civil war to forefront of American concern. This is a direct nod to the efforts of several groups like Resolve Uganda and Gulu Walk, but most notably to the years of creative activism and awareness campaigns by my friends at Invisible Children.  Read this excerpt from Senator Feingold:

For many years, we have both sought to bring attention to the terror orchestrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the LRA, and the suffering of the people of northern Uganda.  We have come a long way in just a few years, thanks especially to young Americans who have become increasingly aware of and outspoken about this horrific situation.  And as a result, the United States has made increased efforts to help end this horror.  Those efforts have yielded some success, but if we are now to finally see this conflict to its end, we need to commit to a proactive strategy to help end the threat posed by the LRA and support reconstruction, justice, and reconciliation in northern Uganda.  This bill seeks to do just that.

It has taken thousands upon thousands of screenings, a bunch of national and international tours, three audacious nation- and world-wide events, and countless hours and dollars committed by high school and college students, and finally this week the greatest single power in the world, the US government, is considering making our cause its own.

Congratulations to IC for this huge victory!  And don’t stop now.

Read Senator Feingold’s full comments here, and while you’re at it, sign up for TRI and keep IC rocking.

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/05/new-senate-bill-seeks-peace-for-northern-uganda-credits-invisible-children/feed/ Acholi Beads Dispatch - By Moms, For Moms http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-dispatch-by-moms-for-moms/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-dispatch-by-moms-for-moms/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:01:15 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=424 We just sent out our latest dispatch to members of the Acholi Beads Friends. Click the link to sign up and get the next one! You can see the email in your browser by clicking on the picture below:

Moms Change Lives Email

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-dispatch-by-moms-for-moms/feed/ Glimpse #2 - By Moms, For Moms http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-glimpse-by-moms-for-moms/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-glimpse-by-moms-for-moms/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:29:10 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=413
Acholi Beads Glimpse: By Moms, For Moms from James Pearson on Vimeo.

Acholi Beads jewelry is made by Moms, for Moms. See the mothers of Acholi Quarters as they juggle their kids, and use their art to build a better life for their families.

This special Mother’s Day video is dedicated to Suzie, Lorraine, Lindee, Jessica, and Willie Jean.

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/acholi-beads-glimpse-by-moms-for-moms/feed/ Glimpse #1 - Stepping Stones http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/glimpse-1-stepping-stones/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/glimpse-1-stepping-stones/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:27:45 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=406
Acholi Beads Glimpse: Stepping Stones from James Pearson on Vimeo.

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/04/glimpse-1-stepping-stones/feed/ Winner of the Times x 20 Giveaway! http://acholibeads.com/2009/03/winner-of-the-times-20/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/03/winner-of-the-times-20/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:09:30 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=351
Chum is the winner!

Turns out 20x someone’s order is a whole lot of jewelry.  That’s what my friend Chum learned after he won our Times x 20 Giveaway!  He got a package in the mail with $800 worth of handmade Acholi Beads jewelry.  What’s he going to do with it?  Follow him at http://twitter.com/chumdinger and ask!

Our Times x 20 promotion was an idea to show the impact of 20x anything, because each time we partner with a new Acholi woman, she improves the lives of 20 people around her.  What does Times x 20 look like in beaded jewelry?  You’ll have to ask Chum.

We’re always thinking of creative ways to bring the story of our Acholi partners home to America.  Do have an idea?  We’re all ears.  Leave a comment or contact us.

[To choose the winner we took all the qualifying orders and numbered them, then chose a number using http://random.org/  Chum's number came up!  Congratulations Chum!]

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/03/winner-of-the-times-20/feed/ Business Will Change the World http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/business-will-change-the-world/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/business-will-change-the-world/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:05:14 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=302 Acholi Beads is a Socially Proactive Business.  What is that?  It’s a business whose success is directly tied to making the world a better place.  Case in point, as Acholi Beads succeeds, more women in Uganda get a hand out of poverty.

But our way of doing Socially Proactive Business is just one way.  There are thousands of others!  And since business is the most powerful force that’s shaped the world in the last 100 years, we believe Socially Proactive Business can improve the world more than any other force in the next 100.

Do you have an idea for a Socially Proactive Business? Make it happen!  If the world gets better as your business succeeds, that’s Socially Proactive.  And if enough of us start these businesses, we can change the world.

We’d be glad to help you brainstorm and refine your ideas.  Just contact us!

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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/business-will-change-the-world/feed/ The Acholi Beads Story http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/the-acholi-beads-story/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/the-acholi-beads-story/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:17:03 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=254 I just finished (like 5 minutes ago) an updated version of the Acholi Beads Story.  It brings the story up to present day and features our latest beautfiul design.  Here’s a PDF version for you to check out.  If you want a high-res version to print out, Contact Us.

The full story of the Acholi Beads women, in one beautiful page.

The full story of the Acholi Beads women, in one beautiful page.


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]]> http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/the-acholi-beads-story/feed/ First Annual Acholi Gras Clearance Sale! http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/first-annual-acholi-gras-clearance-sale/ http://acholibeads.com/2009/02/first-annual-acholi-gras-clearance-sale/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:50:34 +0000 James A. Pearson http://acholibeads.com/?p=239 An Acholi Gras Bag!

An Acholi Gras Bag!

“You look so fat today!” To an American that’s a pretty blunt tool of an insult, but to an Acholi those words are a high compliment. After all, it’s hard to get fat as subsistence farmers facing the hunger and malnutrition of war. To be fat is to be rich. Men hope to grow a “politician’s belly” and women strive to be big and curvaceous.

As Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday” approaches we’re launching our own celebration: Acholi Gras, “Fat Acholi.” This first annual sale is a celebration of Acholi culture and our Acholi partners, who are eating better than ever thanks to all of our customers and supporters! These 16 women have experienced tremendous life change over the past year, and you can bet one change is reflected on the scale!

For a limited time we’re offering Acholi Gras Bags of Acholi Beads to celebrate. Each gift quality bag is filled with at least $80 of beautiful, handmade Acholi Beads jewelry from last year’s line (i.e. two months ago), and you pay only $39.99!

This is a great chance to fill out your Acholi Beads collection, get some gifts for friends, and change the world while doing it. Happy Acholi Gras!

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