On a blistering Friday afternoon, a group of women forwent extended weekend naps and pending household chores to drive through the city for a party. But this was no ordinary bash. It was a party with a cause loaded with temptations few women could resist. The venue was Arabian Ranches and the invite had read: buy handcrafted bead jewellery from Africa and eradicate poverty one bead at a time.
The host is Dubai-based HR consultant, Sonali Attri, who was inspired to plan this bead party after reading an article on the organisation BeadforLife published in the May 28,2010, issue of Friday.
BeadforLife creates beautiful handcrafted jewellery from thrown-away paper and gives employment to thousands of poor women in Uganda.
Sonali's colleagues were the first guests to arrive at her open house bead party. For the ladies braving the mid-day sun on a weekend, the event was well worth the effort. From large bead necklaces to dangling earrings, from strand bracelets to dainty jewellery pouches, there was something for everyone. The bead jewellery in myriad hues laid out on a black cloth made a striking contrast. Sonali and her chirpy teenaged daughter Arushi had woken up early that day to create this alluring display in the small study of their tastefully decorated villa. Interestingly, these beads are not painted and their colour comes from the paper itself.
The scene inside the study was one of girlish fun - women preened in front of a large mirror trying out their choice of bead jewellery amidst loud chatter.
Each lady took turns to see what suited her, matching the necklaces, earrings and bracelets with her outfit while some modelled for others. The oohhs and aahhs continued as they posed with the beads for prospective Facebook albums. All of them were awestruck at the ingenuity of the beads. None of them expected paper beads to look so appealing.
"The designs are so contemporary and the concept is brilliant," says Mandy G Vasudev, a Jumeirah resident. Another guest Charul Mathur, an Emirates Airline employee, agreed. "I was pleasantly surprised to see the finesse of these beads. The Mandala necklace with the large beads is my favourite."
While the sun was shining bright outside, soulful African melodies were playing inside the villa and transported one to the world of the beaders. A DVD from the BeadforLife organisation played on a laptop in the study and told the story of the beaders. Satisfied with their shopping, the ladies took time to read the biographies of the beaders on posters and to find out about the process of rolling a bead. Reading about the beaders difficult lives got everyone thinking. "I feel good about having made a difference in the lives of women far away," says Noelyn Rodrigues, an HR professional. Soon the talk in the room veered to Sonali's initiative to host the bead party.
Sonali recollected the Friday evening when she was deeply moved after reading the story about the beaders and decided to contact the organisation. "I have always wanted to contribute to such social causes, but my present work life with its long hours does not give me time for volunteer work. A bead party, on the other hand, was very much doable as all I had to spare was one Friday afternoon," says Sonali.
Hosting a bead party like Sonali's involves a well-thought out and uncomplicated process. That could explain why in 2009 alone there were 3,000 such parties attended by 100,000 people in the US. Once the date for the bead party is decided, the organiser needs to mail her credit card number to BeadforLife.
This is just a guarantee for any deductions in case the organiser is unable to ship back the bead consignment within two weeks of the party.
The bead consignment reaches in three weeks and comes complete with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct the party, a DVD on the life of the beaders, a CD with Ugandan songs and music, educational material, the biographies of the beaders and even recipes of some Ugandan dishes.
"The whole process is so hassle-free and you get everything without incurring any costs. Even the items that are not sold can be shipped back," Sonali explained.
Though Sonali was the brain behind the idea of the bead party, her family helped her make it a success. While her daughter and young son did some door-to-door campaigning, her husband Vikas sent invites to his 600 friends on Facebook.
Originally from India, this was not Sonali's only social initiative. She harbours a deep interest in development issues and was part of Ritinjali, a non-governmental organisation in Delhi that works in the field of education and community development.
Spurred by the success of her first delightful bead party, during which she collected about Dh6,500, she is already planning a second one later this year.
For she knows that there's no better way to start the weekend than in the company of friends, while bonding over jewellery - and all for a good cause. Sonali's friends couldn't agree more.
