BEADS for Education was founded in 1993 by Debby Rooney and Lisa Stevens.

In the beginning, the focus was on selling the beadwork of the Dupoto Women's Group in the USA so they could send their daughters to school. Many years later, BEADS Sponsors pay the school fees of over 300 girls at three different schools in Kenya.

BEADS for Education, Inc is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

BEADS for Education is headquartered in Brookfield, CT, USA and operates programs exclusively in Kenya. Any material generated outside Brookfield or the authorized programs in Kenya is not related to BEADS for Education, INC.

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A Dream

by Beryl Awour

7th grade • 13 year-old-girl • Top Ride School • Isinya, Kenya

I have a dream
That one day all the little girls
And little boys in this country
Will be great women and great men
Governing this country in a spirit of love.

I have a dream
That my little boy will not despise my little girl
Because she is a girl
And that my little girl will not hate my little boy
Because their daddy left him all our wealth
Because he is a male.

I have a dream
That a day will come when my little girl
Will be judged by her brains
And by her contribution to the whole world,
Not by the shape of her hips
Not by the number of her offspring.

Yes, I have a dream that one day our children will say
It is not for nothing that Martin Luther King died
Not for nothing that Mandela is going blind
Not for nothing the long debates on the equality of women.
My little children, please make my dream come true.

Video: A Visit to the BEADS for Education High School

Click here to read an overview of the work BEADS for Education is doing in Kenya from "Ivy Link", published February 2015.