Florence Nakisige is a mother of 3 children who live in the village of Bujagali about 25 minutes motor cycle ride from Jinja in Uganda. Winnie is her daughter and her 2 sons are Arnold and Elvis. Flo also supports her orphaned nephew who is has university, and looks after her widowed father as well.
Flo is an enterprising, hard-working woman who started a co-operative with her sister, to help the other families in their village. She makes these paper beads – one at a time – and she is never idle. The process includes cutting, glueing and rolling, then drying and coating with estapol, and then threading them and turning them into Fabulous Flo Jewellery!
Some of the other people in her village use tredle sewing machines and make bags and headbands, the Kokai (sarongs) are the clothing that the women wear, and are hand woven.
We met Flo through a friend Melinda who lived with Flo and her family in her tiny village hut for 3 months. They became very close and still remain like part of the family. The village has no electricity or running water and the experience for Melinda was life-changing.
Fair Trade Downunder now has this close connection with Flo, we are paying her directly for these beautiful items, and this will ensure that her children can complete their education and break free from the cycle of poverty that they have grown up in.
