In January 2007, HIV+ women in Africa began earning an income
by making finely-crafted bracelets through a special project with O, the Oprah Magazine. In a few short months, the impact on their lives has been profound. Several shared their stories with Mary Fisher; here are excerpts.
Radegonde Ndejuru, the director of HIV+ group Impore in Rwanda, shared some amazing news. Not only are the bracelets giving the women pride and a sense of hope and purpose but last week Radegonde told the World Food Program (WFP) that they didn't need their food rations anymore since the women were earning an income and told WFP to give their rations to a more needy group. Radegonde was delighted by this and told how surprised the WFP program officer was, saying that to her knowledge no one had ever turned away their food before.
Additionally, Radegonde explained that the WFP program actually causes serious problems because when they give the women rations then the children have to haul water to cook it in, and gather firewood for the stove and this is so time-consuming that they miss school. Now that the women are earning money and can buy their own food, they get food that makes more sense -- no early-morning water carrying, no wood gathering, so now the children are back in school.
Gertrude was born 1977, married at 17 and had two children. She was married for four years but says her husband was a drinker and used whatever money they had for drinking and for his family, which was large. To make money to raise her children, she used to walk across the town to be a housekeeper for a family she said made her work long hours and didn't treat her very well. Gertrude lives with her children and her mother and takes care of her mother, who is dying from cervical cancer. Gertrude says the bracelet project is so incredible because it has given her a sense that she can do great things, beautiful things – and it has allowed her to buy a chicken to eat, which is a luxury. She hopes it will be sustainable and is willing to work very hard to make perfect bracelets.
Sadie is 26 years old and has one child. In 2003, she was sick so went back to her village to ask for help from her grandfather and other relatives. She says she was shunned and relatives got a shovel and put it next to her bed, to use to dig her grave. They wanted her to write down what her belongings were in Lusaka so when she died they could get them (a pretty typical occurrence, because women have no property rights according to tribal traditions). The relatives would not feed her in the village so she got sicker and sicker. She got some money for transport, sneaked out of the village and got back to Lusaka to her sisters, who go her to the clinic where she received antiretroviral (ARV) medication.
Getting paid for her work on the bracelet project means she can buy the balanced food she's supposed to eat while taking ARV medication. She also puts money in the bank for school fees for her daughter, who is 6 now. They have to pay school fees every month and if they don't have enough for that month, her daughter doesn't go to school that month.
Beauty was born in 1962 and completed 8th grade. Her mother died when she was two years old and she was raised for a while by her dad who then left her. Her husband died three years ago; they had eight children, one of whom died and left her two children with Beauty to raise. She has no siblings to help her with her children or her daughter's children and worries about what will happen to them if she dies. This project makes it possible for her to have money to feed all the children and to feel a bond with the other women. Food and school are her main priorities – nothing for herself, she says, all for the children.
Mebbie is 37 years old, raising one child of her own plus two orphaned children of her late sister. Her husband beat her and accused her of bring HIV home to him. She had another child that died from AIDS at 11 months, so her husband accused her of killing her daughter. Even her family turned on her, telling everyone not to eat what she cooked because they would get sick too, and trying to stay away from her.
Mebbie says this project raises her up -- even her neighbors think better of her because everyday she is going to "work" and making bracelets. She draws hope and support from the project and is feeling good about herself.
Gertrude was born 1977, married at 17 and had two children. She was married for four years but says her husband was a drinker and used whatever money they had for drinking and for his family, which was large. To make money to raise her children, she used to walk across the town to be a housekeeper for a family she said made her work long hours and didn't treat her very well. Gertrude lives with her children and her mother and takes care of her mother, who is dying from cervical cancer. Gertrude says the bracelet project is so incredible because it has given her a sense that she can do great things, beautiful things – and it has allowed her to buy a chicken to eat, which is a luxury. She hopes it will be sustainable and is willing to work very hard to make perfect bracelets.
Sadie is 26 years old and has one child. In 2003, she was sick so went back to her village to ask for help from her grandfather and other relatives. She says she was shunned and relatives got a shovel and put it next to her bed, to use to dig her grave. They wanted her to write down what her belongings were in Lusaka so when she died they could get them (a pretty typical occurrence, because women have no property rights according to tribal traditions). The relatives would not feed her in the village so she got sicker and sicker. She got some money for transport, sneaked out of the village and got back to Lusaka to her sisters, who go her to the clinic where she received antiretroviral (ARV) medication.
Beauty was born in 1962 and completed 8th grade. Her mother died when she was two years old and she was raised for a while by her dad who then left her. Her husband died three years ago; they had eight children, one of whom died and left her two children with Beauty to raise. She has no siblings to help her with her children or her daughter's children and worries about what will happen to them if she dies. This project makes it possible for her to have money to feed all the children and to feel a bond with the other women. Food and school are her main priorities – nothing for herself, she says, all for the children.
Mebbie is 37 years old, raising one child of her own plus two orphaned children of her late sister. Her husband beat her and accused her of bring HIV home to him. She had another child that died from AIDS at 11 months, so her husband accused her of killing her daughter. Even her family turned on her, telling everyone not to eat what she cooked because they would get sick too, and trying to stay away from her.
