Margaret Onzia titled this embroidery, "The bird is receiving fresh air." It is displayed on a 9" x 7.5" purse made of soft brown faux leather and brown/gold paisley, with matching lining. The purse has an interior zip pocket, an interior patch pocket, a heavy-duty top zipper, and a detachable wrist strap.
Margaret lives in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. She is a refugee from Kitgum in the north of Uganda, displaced from her village when it became unsafe to continue to live there. Kitgum and surrounding areas experienced the horrors of war for 25 years through the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) and though there is relative peace at present the trauma in the lives of the people has been unspeakable. Many are HIV Positive. Since arriving in Kampala, these women have used their creativity to help support themselves and their families. They now make and sell children’s clothing; knit baby clothes; grow their own ground nuts (peanuts) and make their own peanut butter; keep bees and harvest honey for sale at market; make paper bead necklaces; and recently secured a contract for sewing school uniforms using 6 treadle sewing machines.
Margaret will use the funds she receives for her needlework to provide education for her children; medical support for herself and her family; seeds or fertilizer for her crops; repairs to her home, and care for the orphans for whom she cares as a result of the war, HIV/AIDS or other illnesses.
