if you know me, you know i love rwanda. i spent some of the best years of my life there. i came to know God more there, i met my husband there, and i fell in love with a people there. its true that historically rwanda is a land of tragedy, heartache and horror. but its also true that rwanda is a land of a thousand beautiful rolling hills, huge skies, amazing people. its a land full of beauty and hope.
when i was in rwanda last summer i met with a dear friend who has been serving widows in kigali for years. she works with youth with a mission to try to meet the basic needs of some very poor and destitute women. all of these women are widows, many have aids, and all have children and family looking to them for support. my friend was telling me how hard it is to find the money to help these women, when she did not even have the money to care for her own family. the widows are able to make beautiful rwandan crafts, but there is not really a market for them in rwanda because so many people make so many of the exact same crafts.
robert and i came home heavy hearted, knowing we wanted to do something but now knowing how or what. a few days later one of my best friends, julie, called me and asked if i knew any women in rwanda who would benefit from having an american market for their crafts. she said she had been praying and had it on her heart to see if there was an opportunity in rwanda. i was floored. i immediately told her about my time in rwanda and the burden on my heart.
many conversations meetings, and months later, we have now officially been able to purchase a start up amount of earrings from ten of these women and bring them here to america to sell. we decided to name the company beza, which means beauty. we were able to pay the women more than what they would have been able to make selling them in rwanda.
we have a shop on etsy and would love for you to consider making some beza earrings a gift for the beautiful women in your life, or even for yourself. the heart behind beza is to celebrate beauty and spread hope. we celebrate the beauty of these women and their crafts by giving them as gifts or wearing them ourselves. and we spread hope to these women of rwanda, hope that they can have a chance at life.
not just getting by or surviving,
but really living.
join us?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BezaJewelry
https://www.facebook.com/BezaJewelry
when i was in rwanda last summer i met with a dear friend who has been serving widows in kigali for years. she works with youth with a mission to try to meet the basic needs of some very poor and destitute women. all of these women are widows, many have aids, and all have children and family looking to them for support. my friend was telling me how hard it is to find the money to help these women, when she did not even have the money to care for her own family. the widows are able to make beautiful rwandan crafts, but there is not really a market for them in rwanda because so many people make so many of the exact same crafts.
many conversations meetings, and months later, we have now officially been able to purchase a start up amount of earrings from ten of these women and bring them here to america to sell. we decided to name the company beza, which means beauty. we were able to pay the women more than what they would have been able to make selling them in rwanda.
we have a shop on etsy and would love for you to consider making some beza earrings a gift for the beautiful women in your life, or even for yourself. the heart behind beza is to celebrate beauty and spread hope. we celebrate the beauty of these women and their crafts by giving them as gifts or wearing them ourselves. and we spread hope to these women of rwanda, hope that they can have a chance at life.
not just getting by or surviving,
but really living.
join us?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BezaJewelry
https://www.facebook.com/BezaJewelry
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