Beads For Burkina

The Story Behind the Beads:

After working in Burkina Faso, West Africa for 9 1/2 months and returning to the United States and my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri in June 2010, I decided to take up a new hobby- sewing. Once I began sewing lessons with a family friend and learned how to use a sewing machine, I began making different crafts. While going through scraps of fabric around my house, I found red, white and blue fabric that was originally intended to be a shower curtain. However, after seeing this fabric and knowing the Fourth of July was right around the corner, I decided to make a necklace out of the fabric. After making one necklace, I became hooked. With my new love for sewing and making necklaces, I decided to begin making and selling necklaces and contribute 100% of the proceeds to Burkina Faso Outreach (BFO), the mission organization I worked with while in Burkina, which desires to “share the gospel and care for orphans and widows through Education and a Child Sponsorship Program. For more information on the organization, you can click here or visit www.bfoafrica.org. The people of Burkina, specifically the children and widows hold a very special place in my heart. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with them during my time in Africa and am now excited to get to share more of how special they are with others through selling Beads for Burkina.

The Vision:

My desire for this small ministry I have begun is to raise more awareness of BFO and their efforts to provide for children and widow’s basic needs, including school, medical assistance, food, and shelter.

With the purchase of each necklace, a number of different opportunities can be provided for children and widows in Burkina Faso. 100% of the proceeds will be given to BFO to do a number of different things, including, but not limited to the following:

- Purchasing school uniforms for children (1 necklace sold= 1 school uniform purchased)

- Caring for widows and children through BFO’s sponsorship program (2 necklaces sold= 1 month of sponsorship for a widow who has been abandoned by their family)

- Providing tuition for children to attend high school (8 necklaces sold= 1 year of tuition for a child to go to high school)

How to Purchase the Beads:

- All fabric covered necklaces are $10.00 USD, with the exception of the pearl necklaces, which are $12.00 USD.

- Fabrics may be subject to vary, according to availability.

- The size of beads in each necklace can either be 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1″.

- If you are interested in placing an order or seeing what is already available, please feel free to contact me at 314-348-1605 or olivia.a.vitale@gmail.com.

- Examples of the fabrics available and sizes of beads are shown below. Click on any of the pictures below to see a larger view.