Karen Sparacio, award-winning photographer and founder of Project Have Hope, www.projecthavehope.org, is gradually achieving her goal to empower and improve the lives of families in Uganda by selling beautiful jewelry handcrafted by impoverished and destitute Uganda women who have dealt with significant struggles their entire life. Ms. Sparacio has raised over $100,000 since Project Have Hope’s inception in 2006 through fundraising efforts including donations, recycling printer cartridges and by selling thousands of strands of necklaces and bracelets at every Boston-based craft show or event, all while she was working full-time as a professional news and wedding photographer. In January 2008, Ms. Sparacio and Project Have Hope reached significant milestones including: • Paying the fees for 73 children to attend school including buying all necessary school supplies, uniforms, mattresses, blankets, towels, etc. • Distributing loans enabling 24 women to start or expand a business • Enrolling 14 women in vocational training programs • Building a meeting place for the members Though the organization made tremendous progress in January, there is so much more that can be done with a little assistance. “When I visit the Acholi Quarter, so many people plead for my assistance - assistance that I’m unable to give them. So many people, too many people, need help and I’m only one person,” commented Karen Sparacio in a recent blog entry. “I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far, but there is so much more that can be done.” “One of my recent trips to the Acholi Quarter brought me to a young woman of 20 who is HIV positive, who lost both of her parents to Aids and is now the sole provider of 5 children including one of her own. Without Project Have Hope, this young lady, who may eventually die from Aids, would have no means of supporting the children she is raising, no food for them to eat, nothing to give them, no hope.“ said Ms. Sparacio. To offer assistance to Project Have Hope, the colorful handmade jewelry can be purchased online at www.projecthavehope.org. Sponsoring a child is also available for a nominal fee of $150.00 for an annual day school tuition or $450.00 for annual boarding school tuition. In addition, people can host their own bead parties where they share the hand crafted jewelry with friends, family and their community. About Project Have Hope Project Have Hope is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that seeks to empower women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda by providing education to both the women and their children and assisting the women to establish business opportunities to promote economic stability and sustainability. For more information on Project Have Hope and its’ commitment to giving back, please visit www.projecthavehope.org or call (339) 206-4626.