I could tell by his fallen look that something had broken Charles' heart. She is Juliette, orphaned today from the death of her mother from AIDS. While she was one of thousands of children orphaned this week she is the one touching our lives. She had come to the attention of BeadforLife through Charles Steinberg, HIV specialist and BeadforLife photographer. The circumstances of her mother's death drew us close to this little girl.

In the last desperate weeks of Juliette's mother's life she had done the best she could for her girls. She "gave" the oldest one, Susanna, 17, away to a man…to a man that sells milk on the corner. Susanna would be his "wife" and be able to live in his shanty. The second daughter, Rosy, 14, was sent to a distant village to be the "house girl" for a relative. There was no plan for Juliette.

On the night of her mother's death, Juliette stayed with a community health worker who had helped with her mother's care. This child was a breath away from becoming homeless on the street. That's when BeadforLife decided to do something for her.

I met Juliette yesterday when Esther, the community health worker, and I went to the slum where she now lives. The milkman gave his consent for Juliette to move in with him, Susanna, his sister in law and her infant son. Their home is typical, a room of mud and sticks about 10' X 10', with no windows, no electricity or water. It is roughly divided into two parts by a piece of fabric hung on a string. On the walls are peeling HIV posters and tattered newspaper pictures of the pope.
They own practically nothing. Really, imagine. Nothing. No toys, books, shoes, or underclothes. No nightgown. No food in the cupboard, no cupboard. The contents of the room include three cooking pots, a few jerry cans for water, some cutlery and dishes, a few clothes and one bed.
Juliette's name, Musabelman Birungi means "Pray for God Oh Beautiful One." And she is a beauty. She has very large expressive eyes that hold my gaze shyly. Her long arms and fingers are folded in her lap as she listens quietly to the adults talking about her future.

BeadforLife tries to place students in good schools and so Juliette is enrolled in a local private school, which has 40 other, AIDS orphans as well as several hundred-neighborhood children. She must have a uniform and shoes, underpants, and a sports outfit of shorts and top. And she will need a book bag for her exercise books and her pencils. For good measure BeadforLife also provided a toothbrush, nightgown, and some play clothes.
Susanna, herself a girl with nothing, is lovely in her demeanor, soft, and innocent. I ask Esther, to inquire as to how Susanna is doing with her situation. Esther gazes at me for a moment and then says, "She has no choice. It must work for her. Otherwise she will not be eating."
I sometimes ask myself, "Does it make any difference to the world to be helping people one at a time?" It makes a difference to a difference at BeadforLife. I believe that alleviating suffering is one of the deepest impulses of the human heart. It is a way for us to experience our essential selves. It is a blessing for those of us, who have the opportunities given to us by our North American birth, to be generous in the material world. We get to receive the gifts of friendship and connection and of working together. It teaches that giving is getting.
The Running River School, in Boulder, Colorado, is now sponsoring Juliette through BeadforLife for her education and living expenses. All of those children at Running River are lucky that they are getting to know Juliette. They get to have the gift of giving. Everyone wins. Love wins.