A friend is working on a beautiful project: Pearls for Girls. By creating jewellery and by selling it, she is raising money to help poor girls in Africa to get educated and to be involved in leadership. You can reach her at www.pearls4girls.org to get more information or to offer your help. Here is their introduction to their site:

“The dream of "Pearls for Girls" is for all girls around the world to receive the leadership education they need to create healthy futures, for themselves and their communities. Currently, this dream is out of reach for many girls, especially those living in developing countries, such as Lesotho, Southern Africa, who are now orphans because of HIV/AIDS.

To change this reality, teenage girls and young women in developed countries are invited to build their leadership skills through organizing "Pearl Bees" where they bring people together and create pearl bracelets to raise funds for the leadership development of girls in developing countries. At the same time, all who attend have the opportunity to tell share stories on issues that matter to them. “