Micro-Enterprise CHANGES LIVES!

I'm excited right now about the possible connections and things that can happen!
My friend, LeRoy Goertz invented this jewelry making tool he calls the Coiling Gizmo. Essentially it is a tool to wrap wire around itself into amazing beads and other forms of jewelry. People have done beautiful things with it as you can see from the Gallery page.
Now that I'm planning to go to Haiti, LeRoy remembered that he has some extras of these that could be used for Haitian women to begin some micro-enterprise much the same as Ugandan women have been able to do with making paper beads. The NEWSWORTHY organization BeadforLife has created a bridge for the creations of these women to a Western market. They conduct home jewelry sales parties much like the Tupperware model.

Could this be a viable way for Haitian women to earn incomes? It looks like it could be! The best part (to me) is that the curling gizmo requires no batteries or electricity, and the only limit is your imagination!

Stories of Hope

I'm currently gearing up for a trip to Haiti this summer to do digital Storytelling with children who have been the victims of Trauma there. Our plan is to work on several locations with other artists who have come to conduct therapeutic arts projects for these kids. Right now it looks like I'll be splitting my time between the orphanage and the elementary school.

Even under the best of circumstances life is hard in Haiti. Haiti's infrastructure has never been great and now after the devastating earthquake, things will probably not turn around quickly.
BuildaBridge International, the group that I'm going with endeavors to bring artists into situations like these to help people find hope and healing through the arts.

I'm hoping that by letting people tell their stories that they will express the small signs of hope that they see around them, and that as they change this Narrative in their lives that they will take another step on the path towards healing.