I bought both the ONE and the BONO bracelet and Michele you are so right, they are conversation starters! I am proud to wear them and I get lots of compliments. I’m wearing my Bono bracelet today because it would have been concert day.

I’m simply stating what they have told me. I respect their feelings and opinions of the man.

Living Positively, debbie

I’m just getting the chance to check out the conversation in this thread written so well by Lisa. Lisa has come on board as one of the strongest supporters of what we do at the MPWN website for Agnes Nyamayarwo & the women of the MPWN.

She has been raising money for the women for the last 18 months & has contributed over $1,000 to the MPWN through her own personal efforts in selling their crafts in her area.

She speaks quite well about Agnes’ history with Bono & ONE and I made sure that she got the chance to talk to Agnes by phone during the U2 Conference last year.

My name is Debbie & I have been Agnes’ friend for nearly four yrs now. I first met her when she appea(red) with Bono on “The Heart of America” tour in Lincoln Nebraska in Dec. 2002. I reconnected with her four yrs later at a ONE regional conference event and have stayed the closest of friends since.

I started the MPWN website, MySpace & FB pages for Agnes and the women of the MPWN because they wanted an opportunity for average people – like us – to have a way to make a DIRECT connection with people living in poverty in Africa. This is what we try to do in our social media for Agnes & the MPWN.

The reason WHY the women make the BONO bracelets is, quite honestly, that they love him. THEY LOVE HIM FOR SAVING THEIR LIVES.

If it wasn’t for Bono personally paying for some of their ARV’s, like Agnes’, they simply would have DIED of AIDS. Agnes is alive today because Bono saved her life. He has saved the other women’s lives through his work with ONE, getting them access to their AIDS medication that they can’t afford to buy themselves.

Out of gratitude, the women make their BONO bracelets.

As excavation has also pointed out, if you check our website you’ll see just SOME of the other items the women make to sell to support themselves & their children.

ALL proceeds from the sale of MPWN items go directly back to the women who make the items!
You can’t do better than that!

I hope that Lisa’s and my words have helped some to better understand the MPWN, Agnes’ longtime friendship w/Bono and our activities in support of these brave & beautiful African women.

We hope to hear back from some more of you regarding their purchase. We only have 25 of them left & no more available until October!

Living Positively, debbie

Personally, I think that just having a bracelet with a MWPN logo or design would sell better than anything else. And then you could tell people about the organization… Good luck and I hope you make a lot of money.

A donation of any kind is always greatly appreciated by people who live in poverty. The ladies of the MPWN, however, want to use their talents to make products that they are proud of to sell in the marketplace. In turn, the money made helps their families and communities break out of poverty ( education being the key way out for their children). So that is why selling the jewelry and crafts is so important to them. Think of it as the old phrase…they want a “hand up” and opposed to a “hand out.” But know that they treasure the generosity of those who choose to donate as well. Their products may not be for everyone and that is perfectly fine. As for the connection to Bono-I stated it in my blog piece. Bono saved their lives by providing them with their antiretroviral drugs at no cost to them. Quite frankly, Agnes was very ill the day she first met Bono and didn’t expect to live much longer. Yet, as a nurse, she traveled all over educating families about HIV/AIDS prevention so no other family would have to endure the loss of a loved one like she had (her husband and son). She was Bono’s inspiration at the very beginning before he even started the ONE campaign. It is because of this chance meeting of these two people that millions of lives were saved. That is about as strong of a connection that two people can have. The bracelets were made to honor the man that saved their life. Believe it or not, Agnes had no idea who Bono was when they first met. She knew he was a musician but had no knowledge of U2. So I hope that explains the connection to you better. Perhaps the bracelet may turn off some who don’t like Bono , just as an Obama tee shirt would turn off those who do not care for him. It does not mean that his supporters can’t wear them. So what it really comes down to here is simply an act of kindness and love to a man who showed these ladies kindness and love. Those who support this cause or who simply like Bono and the bracelet are welcome to purchase them. Those who do not , will not. It is just that simple.

Your opinion is personal to you and that is certainly respected here.

Shade, you must send an e-mail to this address: info@mpwn-uganda.org with your order and any other questions you may have about the bracelet or other products. Thank you for your support.