"Don't forget me."

Hampton resident Heather Ditillo's life was forever changed by those three words.

They were uttered by a 10-year-old Ugandan boy named Namagembe, whom she met while on a trip to the country in March of last year.

"He was very drawn to me and kept saying to me, 'Say my name, write it down,'" she said. "And then he looked me dead in the eye and said, 'Don't forget me.'"

Mrs. Ditillo was on the trip with her sister Tera Herman from Blair County who was involved with an organization called BeadforLife. The organization helps women in Uganda --including many who are HIV positive -- to support themselves and their families.

BeadforLife was started by three women -- Devin Hibbard, her mother Torkin Wakefield, and Ginny Jordan -- who were traveling in Uganda and discovered the beautiful bead jewelry Ugandan women made from recycled paper they would find. The women would roll beads with the paper and dip them in several coats of varnish to help harden them.

Seeing the beading process gave them the idea to start the organization to help the women sell their jewelry and use the proceeds to further their education, pay for healthcare or housing, or train for business opportunities.

Women all over the United States, including Ms. Herman, could hold "bead parties" where the beads were sold to friends and family, with the proceeds going back to the women in Uganda.

"She was very drawn to it and wanted to do more to give back," said Mrs. Ditillo. "She called me up one day and asked me if I wanted to go on a trip, and I was thinking New York or maybe Las Vegas. And she said 'Uganda."

Once her sister explained why she wanted to go, Mrs. Ditillo became very excited about it herself. Looking back on the experience a year later, she said she doesn't regret the decision to go.

"It was an experience that has really changed me for life," she said.

A social worker with a degree in nonprofit management, BeadforLife was a natural fit for Mrs. Ditillo.

"The more I learned about them, the more I was impressed with their organization and their professionalism," she said.

The trip to Uganda-and her meeting with young Namagembe sealed the deal for her. Mrs. Ditillo began having bead parties, and was able to get her children's school and the Hampton library involved.

"You can't imagine the feeling of walking into [her children's school] and seeing the teachers wearing those beads," she said. "Once you put on the beads, you just feel this connection to something bigger."

In six months, she was able to help sell $10,000 worth of beads in the Pittsburgh area.

Bead parties are the primary way they are sold, she said.

"It's basically a modern-day Tupperware party, only with jewelry," she said.

There is no cost for the parties to the host. BeadforLife provides everything the host needs, including the jewelry, educational materials, Ugandan recipes, biographies of beaders, an African music CD, prepaid return label, gift tags and an inspirational DVD, which introduces those at the party to some of the women who made the beads.

There are two upcoming events scheduled. There will be a Bead for Life display at Hampton Community Library Holiday shop from 7 to 9 p.m. today, and a Bead for Life display and sale at Hampton High School on Dec. 16-18, sponsored by the Interact Club.

Mrs. Ditillo said thanks to BeadforLife, these women, who used to struggle to survive on less than a dollar a day, are now making $5 to $7 dollars a day through selling the jewelry. Every woman who becomes a beader is guaranteed to go through the BeadforLife program for 27 months. Three of those months are for training purposes, and the remainder are for making and selling the jewelry. The women also are encouraged to further their education or start their own businesses to be able to continue to support themselves.

"These women are able to buy houses, and many even send extra payments and pay off their mortgages early," she said.

Amy Yanda, a spokeswoman for BeadforLife, said one of Mrs. Ditillo's biggest achievements has been the creation of a curriculum program that will be used in schools to help students learn about world poverty, the AIDS epidemic and what they can do to help.

Mrs. Ditillo said she and a committee of other BeadforLife program coordinators wrote the curriculum that targets middle and high school students. Teachers were consulted and have reviewed the curriculum, giving it their approval.

"The plan is to distribute it in the schools by the fall of 2009," Mrs. Ditillo said.

Her dedication to BeadforLife isn't restricted to the local level. In June, Mrs. Ditillo accepted a job with the organization as a program director for North America. The position means she and her family will be relocating to Boulder, Colo.

"It was a hard decision, but I felt it was the direction I was meant to go," she said. "I feel called to end poverty and help obtain world peace."

For more information, visit www.beadforlife.org.