Bead for Life

BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelry, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads.

The beads become income, food, medicine, school fees and hope. It is a
small miracle that connects and enriches everybody in the Bead Circle.

All net profits from BeadforLife are invested in community development
projects that help people work their way out of poverty.

Malaria Prevention

Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or "bad air," infects more than 500 million people a year and kills more than a million. One person dies about every 30 seconds. 

Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In addition to being home to the deadliest strain of malaria and the mosquito best equipped to transmit the disease, many areas in Africa lack the proper infrastructure and resources to fight back.   For each purchase, we will contribute $10 to Nothing but Nets.   It only costs $10 for each net. Although $10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria, many of whom survive on less than $1 a day. Nets are a simple, life-saving solution, but we need your help to provide them to those in need.  Note: Hit the return key to return to this page from the Nothing but Nets website.  

One Million Lights

The founder of One Million Lights has a goal to distribute 1 million lights to further children's education and to improve the lives of people in rural communities around the world.

Benefits

Improve literacy  
Extend education hours
Make education enjoyable for children

The World Health Organization recommends 300 lux of light for reading without straining the eyes.  A kerosene lamp produces ~10 lux of light. With the MightyLight, students can enjoy reading in ~500 lux of clean white light.  The enjoyment of reading translates into longer reading times and better comprehension.  This in turn has a ripple effect on the overall education level of the student, as reading is the foundation for understanding all the subjects one is studying be it Science, Math or History.

As children expand their horizons, they are able to reach for their dreams and have a higher chance of success in life.

Read more about the charity at http://www.onemillionlights.org

Heifer International 
Supports Improvished people from around the world.

Heifer has learned over the years that a holistic approach is necessary in order to build sustainable communities. So we've developed a set of global initiatives - areas of emphasis that must be addressed if we're to meet our mission of ending world hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. 

Agroecology
In a world where land is overused, community members need to learn how to protect and rejuvenate their land, water and other natural resources. Heifer helps by teaching environmentally sound agricultural techniques. 

Animal Well-Being
Before any Heifer animal is passed along to a project partner, Heifer trains the new recipient in animal management, using our strictly enforced. Animal Welfare Guidelines

Gender Equity
In Heifer's view, gender equity is a social justice and human rights issue that directly leads to ending hunger and poverty. That's why our participants are equal partners in sustainable development projects.

HIV-AIDS
Today, we as a world community, confront AIDS, a virus that in the past 25 years has either infected or killed over 64 million people. It is not only a health issue, as it fractures every sector of society, for Heifer, it is a prominent concern in the arena of sustainable development. 

Microenterprise
Heifer provides both "no-interest living loans" in the form of livestock, as well as small monetary loans to help people start and expand businesses that yield big benefits for families.

Urban Agriculture
Heifer is reconnecting city-dwellers with their food sources, building strong alliances and instilling an entrepreneurial spirit among adults and youth through our Urban Agriculture projects.

Young People's Initiative
Heifer weaves youth-focused programs through all our project work and emphasizes young people's needs.  

Invisible Children

In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims.

After returning to the States, they created the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a film that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda.s night commuters and child soldiers.

The film was originally shown to friends and family, but has now been seen by millions of people. The overwhelming response has been, "How can I help?" To answer this question, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created, giving compassionate individuals an effective way to respond to the situation.

Who We Are

We are storytellers. We are visionaries, humanitarians, artists, and entrepreneurs. We are individuals part of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it.

As a non-profit we work to transform apathy into activism. By documenting the lives of those living in regions of conflict and injustice, we hope to educate and inspire individuals in the Western world to use their unique voice for change. Our media creates an opportunity for people to become part of a grassroots movement that intelligently responds to what.s happening in the world.

But our work extends beyond our borders. In war-affected regions we focus on long-term development, working directly with individuals and institutions that are eager to realize their full potential. Through education and innovative economic opportunities, we partner with affected communities and strive to improve the quality of life for individuals living in conflict and post-conflict regions.

How We Make a Difference

Our approach to humanitarian work is founded in the strength and intelligence of the Ugandan community. We learned early on it was not only important but essential to heed the wisdom of people that had not only lived in the war, but were surviving it. People who would know better than anyone what the greatest needs were and the best ways to meet them. What we came to find is that while there have been many efforts to address the issues that stem from living and fighting in such a long-lasting war, the people of Uganda are asking for a future beyond the conflict.

Their pleas have become our development strategy.

All of our programming is a partnership between those of us at Invisible Children and those in the Ugandan community. We focus on long-term goals that enable children to take responsibility for their future and the future of their country. Our programs are carefully researched and developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, resettlement from the camps, and financial stability.

Haiti Earthquake Relief   
via American Red Cross

Please donate to the American Red Cross to help the people of Haiti.