Fatima

Fatima is one of the original three Bead Amigas who began in June 2008. A quiet but strong leader, Fatima enjoys visiting Americans in her home. She also has emerged as the mentor for the other beaders. We often hear from the women that they will bring their creations first for Fatima to check before we see them. The 27-year old has a great artisitc eye and is extremely patient and focused.

Although Fatima's husband holds a regular job, the slim wages he earns working in the fields do not go far for a family of six. In addition to their two young sons, Fatima's niece and grandfather also live in the two bedroom home.

One day, she would like to open a store in this little block house, but for now the village does not have electricity. September of 2010 was an exciting month for her family because they finally saved enough money to build an addition onto their home. Her biggest dream - and one that is possible now with Bead Amigas - is for her children to be able to continue going to school and be successful.

Darling

Darling is 20 years old and proud to call herself one of the original Bead Amigas. Although she had moved away from Los Rotarios between the first and second training weeks, she sought us out to guarantee a spot in the group. Since then, she has emerged as a leader for the beaders offering advice and extra training to those that may be struggling.

Since Darling no longer lives in Los Rotarios, she and Jessica commute the two kilometers from their home to participate in our weekly meetings, usually on foot since the bus cannot pass through the rocky way to their home. Darling often works as our assistant to help out with explaining methods to the women and assuring that everyone is on track.

Darling lives wth her husband and his family, this includes her sister-in-law Jessica, a fellow Bead Amiga. She works with Jessica and her mother-in-law to keep up the household for the seven people living there. She gave birth to her first baby, Leader, in December of 2009 and hopes that one day she will be able to own her own home with her husband to raise their family in.

Jessica

When we asked the original three beaders to identify one person whom they'd like to join the group, Darling selected her sister-in-law, 23-year old Jessica. Paper bead rolling is an act of precision, so we were surprised to find that Jessica crafted a perfect bead during the first week of training. Because she caught on so quickly, she was immediately able to make complete bracelets earn substantial income.

Jessica is a strong, single woman and proud of it! In a culture where many women are married and pregnant at a young age, she has embraced her youth and independence and taken complete ownership of the project. Somthing that is unimaginable to many other women her age, Jessica is financially supporting herself and has taken control of her future.

Jessica is the one in the group that keeps us laughing. Whether it's her sideways glances or her quick-wit, she always creates a fun atmosphere for us all.

Ana Rosa

When we met 18-year old Ana Rosa, she had almost lost the ability to dream about the future. Life was an unending grind to support herself, her baby, and her elderly mother. Her family had no consistent source of income. Occasionally she and her mother would find work washing clothes or picking peanuts, but it was sporadic at best. With a second-grade education, her prospects were dim.

However, Ana Rosa was still able to recognize and seize opportunity. In June 2008, we offered 15 women in the village the chance to learn paper beading as a craft. At the end of the week, the women had the option to keep their creation or sell them back to us. Ana was one of three entrepreneurs that emerged.

Now, Ana is a prolific beader - and earner! Her future is indeed brighter because of Bead Amigas

Transito

It's the best to say that Transito is the feisty activist of our group. She is a 36-year old widow who is an advocate of women's and children's rights and the voice of the improvished people in her community.

Transito sticks out from the rest in that she has attained the highest educational level among the women enrolled in the project. In the past year, she has been certified as a nurse and has completed domestic violence training. On more than one occasion she has had to intervene in cases of child abuse and involve the police, an act that could be dangerous for her family.

With her passion to serve, she acts as the community leader of Los Rotarios. She often meets with the local government for different issues affecting her neighbors such as acquiring electricity for the community or setting up small loans for business projects. Additionally, she is a representative of the Ministry of Health, testing and treating people for malaria. She also runs a program from her home to teach the illitterate how to read and write. If she were from a developed country, she would be well paid for her skills. In Nicaragua, however, everything she does is on a volunteer basis.

A few years ago, her husband was killed and one of her children was badly injured in a lightening strike in the village. Since the she has been raising two of her five children alone in the house while the other three are being raised by extended family. Bead Amigas allows her to stay home with her children as well as provides much needed income, so she can continue making her community a better place to live.

Maria

Maria is 22-years old and lives in her own home in Los Rotarios with her husband and young son. She is part of our group of beaders as she joined in 2009 when her friend Transito brought her along to training week.

Although Maria is young, she manages to run her household and care for her family. Oftentimes you can find her cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, or giving little Denis a bath from the barrels of water in the back of the house. Her constant smile shows that she is content with her life, but she has a big dream of attending beauty school one day.

Although Maria has many other responsibilities, she still finds time to volunteer around her community. No matter what the project is, from digging trenches for water to painting the school building, she's out there and ready to work with a smile on her face.

Oneyda

Looking at Oneyda's jewelry, no one would ever be able to tell that she never took part in Bead Amigas training. Oneyda has a story that really speaks to the mission of the Bead Amigas. Within the first two days of training week 2009, we identified the Bead Amigas as the group of 7 women who showed up to learn. At the end of the week, we noticed another woman who would hang around to watch us practice together. We would later find out that she collected whatever scraps she could find from our meetings to go home and practice rolling the beads herself. Her determination led the other Bead Amigas to share their supplies and show us how she was progressing. Her initiative and ambition earned her a spot in the group and she is now a proud Bead Amiga.

Oneyda and her husband have four beautiful children, the youngest of which was born with club feet. Recently, the one-year-old Javier reached the age where he wants to stand and walk and has been met with extreme frustration at not being able to do so. After multiple surgeries from Amigos for Christ surgical brigades, Javier Jesus is now able to walk! His future is much brighter and he is stomping around his house causing his family as much trouble as any other child does.

Ana Patricia

We met Ana Patricia January 2009 during training week while she was desperately looking for a way to keep her family afloat. This 30-year old single mother is the sole provider for her four children, younger siblings, and elderly mother.

At the beginning of Bead Amigas, Ana Patricia continued working at her former job in order to make ends meet. In the spring months, she worked sorting peanuts in a factory, making $1.50 per day. In the summer months, she found work in the fields planting for $3.00 per day. After she returned home from a long day out in the sun, she made as much time as she could to practice beading, cutting paper, and making bracelets.

The other beaders have always been a huge support system for Ana bringing her completed jewelry to meetings, lending her supplies, even helping her finish her beads. If it weren’t for their solidarity as a group, Ana may have never achieved her dream of being able to quit working in the fields and become a full-time beader. Now she enjoys working from home and spending more time with her family. May she continue to reach her goals and dream even bigger.