Hallo, caring viewers, and welcome to Good People, Good Works. On
today's program we feature Paper to Pearls,a project in which over １２５
women from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in northern Uganda
make colorful necklaces and other jewelry out of recycled paper. The
items are then sold to a thriving market in the USA and other developed
countries.
The buyers are both delighted by the beautiful
necklaces and honored to support a worthy cause. Paper to Pearls was
started by Ms. Barbara Moller, a vegetarian and president of Voices for
Global Change, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, USA
that seeks to uplift socially, economically, and politically
disadvantaged people around the world through mentoring and training.
In
２００５, Ms. Moller took her first trip to Uganda, where she visited two
Internally Displaced Persons camps created by the Ugandan government to
address the instability in the region.
Approximately ８０
percent of the residents of Northern Uganda have moved to these sites.
Ms. Moller was deeply touched by the difficult living conditions at the
camps, and by the fact that approximately １.８ million people live at
these sites.
Barbara (f):
The women that we met had lived in the camp, most of them, for about
ten years. And they lived, as anyone can imagine, a very marginalized
life. There was not much for them to do.
So they live there
with their families, their entire families,and all of their children.
These camps ranged in size from just a few hundred people to up to
６０,０００. Some of the larger camps were like small cities.
The
people were totally dependent upon humanitarian aid organizations for
their support, for their living opportunities. So the World Food
Program, for example, Doctors Without Borders, many of those kinds of
organizations were essential to keeping the people alive.
For informatio on Paper to Pearls and to view available jewelry, please visit:
www.papertopearls.org