In South Africa, traditional Zulu beadwork designs relate to courtship and marriage. The combination and arrangement of colors can denote the marital status of a woman or it can be used as a system of identifying individuals who can be approached for courtship.

Like the Zulu language itself, the bead language is rich in nuance and complexity and can only really be fully comprehended by those immersed in the culture.

There are seven basic colors which can have a positive or negative connotation depending upon their arrangement. White is the exception and is always a positive symbol of purity and true love. If white is placed next to a color, the positive aspect is taken. For example, white next to blue signifies fidelity and is the conventional engagement symbol.

Millions of South African children suffer from poverty, hunger and the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS. Still, many have smiles that inspire the Beaded Hope team. The children play like regular kids; Beaded Hope team members once handed out gift baskets that included soccer balls, and a pick-up game was immediately organized on a nearby sandlot. Children also love having their picture taken, and they mug for cameras with the ease of supermodels. Many have never seen themselves in a photo, so the quick results of a digital camera are a special treat. According to recent statistics, approximately 16% of them under 18 could be HIV-positive.

School Children Mugging for the Camera
Photographed by Diana Kelly; April 2006

Like many South Africans who feel pressure to hide their HIV status, Rose would not admit she was HIV-positive and told most people she had tuberculosis. After many minutes of conversation and prayers with team members, Rose came around and confessed that she was HIV-positive. She died the next day.

Several days later, Beaded Hope team members returned with food and found her family in mourning, as seen in this photo. Rose left behind a young daughter.

A Family in Mourning
Photographed by Jennifer Davis; August 2005

My Kindergartner is home sick from school today, and for some reason “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” popped into my head. Maybe I’ve watched too much PBS today, or maybe I had a moment of clarity amidst the chaos of sickness. Either way, as I re-read Robert Fulghum’s essay today, several of his points of wisdom jumped out at me.

“Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten…

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life – Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day…

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

These words couldn’t ring more true for me right now as I am about to embark on my next journey to South Africa.

I want to play fair and share everything with my friends in South Africa. I plan to sing and dance to the best of my ability (trust me, it won’t be pretty). But most of all I want to hold hands and stick together with my friends.

So, it is with the wonder and wisdom of a Kindergartner that I head to South Africa.

Jennifer Davis
Beaded Hope founder

p.s. Want to read Robert Fulghum’s entire essay? Just click here.