Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/beadforlife-program-helps-lift-ugandans-out-of-poverty Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript A program that helps Ugandans sell beads in America has brought hundreds of families out of extreme poverty through a woman-to-woman network focused on sales at house parties and a Web store. Spencer Michels reports on the program and the people it helps. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JUDY WOODRUFF: Next, how women in North America have changed the lives of hundreds of women in Uganda. Spencer Michels narrates our story of a group called BeadforLife. SPENCER MICHELS, correspondent: For five years, women in Uganda have been excited about BeadforLife. Co-founded by American Torkin Wakefield, this nonprofit has brought hundreds of people out of extreme poverty. It's all been done with beads, rolling them, stringing them, selling them. UGANDAN WOMAN: BeadforLife! SPENCER MICHELS: Before Wakefield came along, many of the beaders earned less than $1 a day breaking rocks in a gravel pit and lived in malaria-infested slums. TORKIN WAKEFIELD, Co-Founder, BeadforLife: Look at your baby. She looks really healthy!Hello, Moses, yes, the proud papa. SPENCER MICHELS: So how did BeadforLife help Moses Kwanze, his blind wife, Ruth Machala, and others earn $280 a month and own their own homes? Social entrepreneur Wakefield says it was one step at a time. TORKIN WAKEFIELD: I think, for me personally, that I never understood where we were going. I never had a clear vision, and even yet for BeadforLife. It's you start, you take a step, and you pay attention. And as you see what options you have in front of you, you make the next smart decision.