"For the last 21 years Africa’s longest running war has ravaged the northern regions of Uganda, home to the Acholi people. Over 2 million people fled their homes to seek safety. Some made it as far as Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, where they could only find refuge in a hillside slum, now called Acholi Quarters.

Acholi Beads are made by these refugees living in the Acholi Quarters slum. As they struggle to rebuild their lives, the sale of Acholi Beads provides a vital income and helps share their story with the world.

The beads are made from recycled paper from local printers. They are made by men and women whose families are, in the terminology of international aid and development, ‘vulnerable.’ This means that they don’t have a safety net. If something goes wrong they don’t eat, don’t get medicine, don’t go to school. Acholi Beads are made by 10 people from such families and are helping them go from vulnerable to successful."