by Katelyn George

Kanzi offers handmade, fair-trade jewelry and crafts, including Nativities, from artisans across East Africa. Not only does Kanzi help develop a market for these artisans, it also donates a portion of sales to support orphans and children at risk in Uganda, enabling them to get much needed food, clothing, shelter, education, and spiritual care. These children are otherwise at risk of being forced into sexual exploitation or child labor.

When you buy Kanzi products from WorldCrafts, you enable Kanzi to expand its work.

Anne’s Story

Anne was an at-risk widow in need of a job skill that she could learn quickly and would enable her to work at night after caring for her family all day. Her creative, bright, and motivated spirit allowed her to become a natural at paper bead jewelry. Her attention to detail makes her beads stand out in the crowd, and her infectious smile does not hurt either.

She now can care for her family better because of the income she receives through Kanzi’s marketing of her jewelry. And there are many more artisans like Anne who find a market for their beautiful work through Kanzi.

Pearl Ministries

As a for-profit business, Kanzi is able to leverage its earnings to benefit communities in East Africa. So not only does Anne’s work benefit her and her family, it provides for others in need as well. Kanzi is an initiative of Pearl Ministries, Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based nonprofit working in Uganda with orphaned and vulnerable children and holistic community development. Kanzi contributes back to Pearl Ministries, which then partners with and helps support a local orphanage and affiliated primary school, Ranch on Jesus.

Joan’s Story

Joan lost both her parents to AIDS. Like many young orphan girls in Uganda, Joan’s future looked grim. Poor education, sexual exploitation, and hard manual labor in the fields or in rock quarries were highly probable outcomes for her life.

Wanting a better life for her granddaughter, Joan’s grandmother decided to place her at the Ranch on Jesus school thanks to a scholarship provided by Kanzi’s work. Since moving there, Joan has successfully progressed to the top of her academic class. Joan can now hope for a bright future, free of exploitation.

To see beautiful WorldCrafts products from Kanzi, including Nativities, go to http://www.worldcrafts.org/artisanDetail.asp?id=76.

Kanzi® is a registered trademark of Pearl Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.