The Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club is now selling beaded jewelry to support Set Her Free, a non-profit working to remove young girls in Uganda from child labor and prostitution by providing them with shelter and vocational training.
Kiran Dhaliwal, a Scotch Plains resident and international chair for the Rotary Club, was introduced to the organization by her daughter Megan who traveled to Uganda three years ago. After meeting Robinah, a Set Her Free house mother in Kampala, Megan decided she wanted to bring beads back to the United States to help with the organization’s fund-raising.
Seven months ago, the Rotary Club launched Beads of Hope, and it has already raised $15,000 to help the nonprofit with food, shelter and medical expenses. In Uganda, bead making is an art form. The beads are created out of recycled paper like newspapers and calendars and then cut into thin strips with a paper cutter and dyed. Once dyed, they spin the paper on looms to make different shapes and sizes.
The Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club will be selling earrings, bracelets and necklaces, ranging from $8 to $30, at its Luminary Sale being held at the Fanwood Municipal Garage on December 10, 11, 17 and 18 from 9 am to 3 pm and December 24 from 9 am to noon.