Jewelry lets tribe 'have hope' for future
By Sarah Freedman Contributing Writer

On Feb. 28, (l to r) Lori Burton, the owner of Serendipity, watches Sue Underwood, a Hudsonbased artist, demonstrate how members of the Acholi tribe make glass beads. PHOTO/SARAH FREEDMAN

Hudson - Americans throw away magazines every day, and many of these magazines end up in the trash. In Uganda, however, the Acholi tribe uses strips of magazine paper to create pieces of art - in the form of glass-blown, paper bead necklaces and bracelets.

The jewelry serves a larger purpose than just looking beautiful; it makes money for the tribe, whose members have been displaced because of a civil war that is over 20 years old.

The bracelets and necklaces are sold at Serendipity at 63B Main St. in Hudson and at Dunia, located at 43 Nason Street in Maynard.

Lori Burton, the owner of Serendipity, said her involvement with helping the Acholi tribe began when a woman named Karen Sparacio came into the store as a customer a year ago.

Burton noticed Sparacio wearing the jewelry. When she explained how the pieces were made and where they came from, Burton decided to sell them in Serendipity and help out a good cause.

"Knowing that you are really making a diff erence is a cool thing," Burton said.

According to Sparacio, the founder of Project Have Hope (PHH), roughly 10,000 people in the Acholi Quarter have formed a community in Uganda.

"[They] have established a community in which they live in poverty, but are safe," she said.

Sparacio said she travels to Uganda twice a year and wires money on a monthly basis to the tribe.

PHH began when Sparacio, who is a professional photographer, was in Uganda taking pictures two years ago.

"When it was time to leave, I couldn't just walk away," she said. "I had met too many wonderful people who I wanted to try to help."

PHH's goal is to raise money for the tribe and use that to provide the women with "the tools needed to create a sustainable living."

Sparacio said through an education that includes basic literacy and vocational training, the women can then start their own businesses within the community and not be dependent on selling the bracelets.

Thanks to PHH, 31 children were enrolled in school; 14 women received vocational training in tailoring, catering and cosmetology; and two women were enrolled in higher education programs in 2007. Forty-two more children have joined that number since January.

The money earned from the jewelry helped to pay for books, uniforms, linens and school fees, she said.

According to Sparacio, 24 women, many of whom have never been inside a classroom, have been enrolled in a literacy program this year.

In addition, a revolving small loans program was established, which 24 women have used to start small businesses. The business ventures include a joint beauty salon, chicken farm, vegetable stand, charcoal store and wholesale store, many of which are operated in a village building with two offices and a large meeting area.

"Slowly by slowly," a common saying among the Acholi, Sparacio said, PHH is making a diff erence in the women's lives.

Ultimately, Sparacio said, the main objective is not how much money is made, but what can be done with it.

"It's not simply about a number, but about the work we do," she said.

For more information about PHH, visit www.projecthavehope. org or send e-mail to Sparacio at projecthavehope@ yahoo.com.

At Serendipity, the bracelets are $6 and $8 each, and the necklaces are $12. Serendipity will be showing a photo exhibit of Sparacio's work featuring the tribe in May.