Uncategorized

Beads change lives. Beads bring support to girls. Beads equal education. These beads are beautiful.

Hope for Hearts offers handcrafted beaded jewelry direct from Uganda. These unique pieces are rolled out of recycled paper and created into fabulous fashionable earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more. Money raised through the sale of beads supports St. Elizabeth Girls Academy (SEGA).

The girls living at SEGA have strength. They are not just dreaming of their future, they are mapping their future out. On a daily basis the girls strive to educate themselves up and out of poverty. Most importantly through the education process, they are gaining entrepreneurial and business skills that will prepare them for the ups and downs of sustainable business ownership.

Beads are a skilled craft. Beads are a business. Beads make a great holiday stocking stuffer. These beads are available for purchase at hope4hearts.org or the following Las Vegas retail stores:

Annabelle’s All Occasions

Mind, Body, And Spirit

As the holidays approach, may yours be filled with peace and love,

Cristen

  There is an age old saying that melds perfectly with the Hope for Hearts mission.  “If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.”

The basis of St. Elizabeth Girls Academy (SEGA) is to teach girls skills that will give them the ability to live on their own successfully. We are here to teach, not create a dependency. Giving our girls the tools to succeed is the utmost priority. Yes we do provide food and shelter for the short term, but as the girls move through the program they gain valuable skills for the long term. Just like your home or mine, the girls must abide by the rules of the home, and contribute with chores, along with keeping up with their studies and religion courses.

For example, Kalisizo discovered a passion for sewing during her time at SEGA. She gained key skills to become a tailor. When the time came to leave SEGA, friends of Father Mugagga Lule provided her with a sewing machine. Kalisizo is now self-employed, living in St. Balikuddembe.

This is an amazing story of resilience. Kalisizo had the determination to walk away from begging by day and prostituting by night. She did not want to fall into the cycle of life that she knew – Kalisizo lost her mother to HIV/AIDS and her alcoholic father to living on the streets. Father Mugagga gave her a choice: continue living life on the street or move to SEGA, where following rules are not only mandatory; but a key to the education process.

Kalisizo took on the challenge. Kalisizo is just one of hundreds of girls who want to lift themselves to a higher quality of life. Hope for Hearts and its partnership with SEGA provides these girls with the means to succeed. Your continued support teaches our girls to fish. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some fishing.

Peace and Love,

Cristen

The actual use of email has been going for 41 years. But 30 years ago, a 16 year old coined the term email from the words electronic mail. Life has not been the same. Leaps and bounds of growth have taken place since then, and as a whole we are addicted to being social without being social the way our grandparents understood the term.
We are in the midst of a social media boom from pins and circles, to fans and followers along with Tweets and check-ins. That famous phrase, You Got Mail sure started a connection revolution that is significantly and constantly changing the landscape of life.

An ocean and 9,173 miles separates us from our Ugandan family. Although worlds apart, through email and social media we remain close at heart. Please join me in the instant sharing of news, funnies, facts and feelings.

Hope for Hearts, get social with us 🙂

A fun fact* – There are over 3.375 billion email accounts worldwide with nearly 145 billion email messages zipping throughout the world daily.

Hard to believe just over a year ago I ventured to Uganda on a trip that will forever leave a lasting impression. In September, I shared some of those photos and memories with you via our social networks. Those children housed in cramp quarters, scarce food, clothes that barely fit, but those smiles ingrained into my memory. Given the unfortunate stories; and there are plenty to share on where they came from and how they landed at St. Elizabeth, these kids are survivors. They want to learn. They want to better themselves and their lives.

During my stay, I cried, I laughed, I learned new things and I drew inspiration.

It pains me to know that girls are turned away due to the lack of facility space and resources. That is why I forge ahead and reach out to my friends, family and supporters for a helping hand. Because the hands you are helping are hundreds of vulnerable girls each year. Your gift – be it a financial donation or a group educational opportunity – empowers them with survival and self-reliance skills.

The moment I boarded the plane for my return home, I knew the decision to hop on the roller coaster ride of the non-profit world, was not only right, but even I did not realize, the utmost necessity.

Hope for Hearts was born, and not one day goes by that I don’t thank the heavens above for connecting me with these children.  They are the future computer geeks, fashionistas, food stylists, and land and livestock cultivation specialists.  They are the future of this world.