Friends of Maiti Nepal

Last week I bought this beaded purse that was made by girls who had been rescued from the sex traffic trade in Nepal and India. The beads are tiny -- there must be thousands in each purse -- and were sewn on by hand. The geometric design is beautiful. The purse was only $30, and every dollar goes back to help support the girls.


I bought it from a fellow book club member ... who was selling the purses for her school teacher daughter ... who found out about them when she viewed the bead work and a film about the girls, "The Day My God Died," at the home of a friend ... who was selling the girls' beaded items through Christine Mackay of Crooked Trails www.crookedtrails.org ... which is the local (Seattle) organization that filters the bead work for Maiti Nepal ... which is the group that rescues and shelters these girls.

I see it as individuals linked together for a greater cause, just as the beads are strung together to make a beautiful bag. For more info, please check out these websites:

* Friends of Maiti Nepal http://www.friendsofmaitinepal.org, the official representative of Maiti Nepal in the United States.

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcezMgP40zE, a trailer for the film, "The Day My God Died."

If you live in the Gig Harbor-Tacoma area and are interested in buying a purse or other beaded item, just leave a comment here.