I love inspiring girlfriends who challenge me to, like them, make the world better.

I think you’ll love them too, so meet JENNIFER DAVIS and CATHY LIGGETT who are changing lives in South Africa as well as the U.S. ‘one bead at a time’ through the book and organization: BEADED HOPE.

And join us on Friday as we interview Jennifer and Cathy on our BlogTalkRadio show (2:00-2:30pm EST). We’ll with them live about the amazing stories of supporting women in South Africa with the NEW book and the wonderful Beaded Hope jewelry and gifts.

Thanks to Cathy and Jennifer for sharing this girlfriend account of inspiring women in this Girlfriendology guest blog::

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Friendships

Sometimes friendship happens when you least expect it.

Such is the story of Jennifer Davis, founder of the Beaded Hope non-profit, and Cathy Liggett, author of the Beaded Hope novel released on March 1st. In September of 2005 these two future friends happened to cross paths – Jennifer, with a broken foot, and Cathy, a part-time hospital registrar and spare-time romance author. They quickly and easily struck up a conversation when Cathy complimented Jennifer on the beautiful red beaded pin adorning the lapel of her jacket. It was no ordinary pin, Cathy found out as Jennifer went on to explain its origin. Because just four months earlier, Jennifer had started a non-profit organization called Beaded Hope to help women in South Africa provide for their families by selling their beaded jewelry in the United States. The sparkling pin had been handcrafted by one of the artistic bead workers there.

Cathy bought a piece of jewelry that day from Jennifer, never expecting to see her again. But, as fate would have it, when Jennifer arrived at the clinic for future checkups, she was greeted by Cathy each time. Recognizing that this was more than mere coincidence, the two women decided to meet for tea.

The tea grew cold in their cups as Jennifer shared her photos and journal stories from her earlier trips to South Africa. Though the faces in the photo album were completely foreign to Cathy, she was notably touched. She instinctively wanted to write about the strangers in the photos, initially envisioning an international romance.

As she began to write, however, Cathy quickly discovered that the story needed to be more than romance, it had to be about women like those in Jennifer’s photos. Even more, it needed to be about women bonding with one another through their struggles, dreams, hopes and faith.

Cathy began writing again, confident her idea was a winner. But sometimes you have to wait for the world to catch up with you. After Cathy received a number of rejections, Jennifer called her, quite out-of-the-blue, inviting her to go on the next trip to Mamelodi, South Africa. While the idea seemed far-fetched to Cathy, Jennifer encouraged her to take the idea seriously, knowing that once Cathy experienced the women of Beaded Hope she’d be able to write with even more passion and depth.

Knees shaking, Cathy joined Jennifer on the 20 hour flight to South Africa. While her fears and discomfort threatened to engulf her, Cathy was warmly welcomed by the women of South Africa. Amid the unimaginable tragedies they face each day – the poverty, the disease, the horrific living conditions, the grief of losing loved ones – the women have a pervasive joy and graciousness about them that’s irresistible. The women hug hugely, smile widely, and pray boldly for you.

Cathy was hooked by the joy of the women Jennifer introduced her to.  By the time she returned home, she discovered that she had developed a completely new set of friends who just happened to live half-way around the world. Despite their different surroundings, Cathy, Jennifer and the ladies of Beaded Hope are united by the common struggles, desires, and hopes of all women. Out of this love and bonding came Beaded Hope, a novel that shows how extraordinary things can happen when ordinary women reach out in faith and friendship.

Small (and big) ways that you can make a difference in the world

• Get passionate about something. Do you love animals? Is gardening your thing? Do you love helping the elderly? Have you lost a loved one to heart disease, diabetes or lung cancer? Everyone has something they’re passionate about.  What is it for you?
• Get Shopping and raise money for your favorite charity. It’s easy. Just go to Good Shop at www.GoodShop.com, pick your favorite charity and start shopping. Every time you shop at a participating online store you charity will earn up to 30% of your purchase. Totally easy and totally worthwhile.
• Get involved in whatever you’re passionate about. You don’t have to start a non-profit or write a book, there are organizations at the local, national and international level that you can get involved with. Go find one and volunteer, even if it’s just once a month. Need a little help finding an organization? GuideStar can help at www2.guidestar.org.
• Get away and experience an entirely new environment by taking a mission trip. You don’t have to travel to South Africa to go on a mission trip; there are organizations that coordinate trips within the United States or to South America. A mission trip is a life-changing way to experience a new culture, see the world in a different way and get passionate about making a difference. Once place that you can get more information is Back2Back Ministries at www.back2backministries.com.
• Get together with your girlfriends and get involved. It is an amazing thing when two (or more!) girlfriends get together, get passionate and get involved. Big things can happen.

About Beaded Hope, the novel and the organization

Beaded Hope author Cathy Liggett, and Beaded Hope founder Jennifer Davis became friends in 2005, bonded by a common love of Africa and a desire to make an impact on the world. Cathy and Jennifer traveled to South Africa together in March of 2008, and from that trip came inspiration for the women’s fiction book, Beaded Hope. Cathy fell in love with the women of South Africa and the mission of the non-profit organization Beaded Hope , and now donates 20% of her earnings from the sale of the novel to the organization. Together Cathy and Jennifer work to put into action the African proverb: Happiness requires something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

About Cathy Liggett

Cathy Liggett is the author of several contemporary romances and one nonfiction book. She worked in advertising copywriting and gift product development before turning to her passion for writing fiction. She was inspired to write Beaded Hope after traveling to South Africa on a mission trip like the one described in the story. Cathy and her husband, Mark, have two grown children and make their home in Loveland, Ohio. Visit her website.

About Jennifer Davis

Jennifer is passionate – about life, her sons, sharing with friends and most definitely, about making a difference in the world. She leads the non-profit organization Beaded Hope and works with the women of South Africa to create beautiful beaded jewelry and gifts then sells them here (via the website, events and stores). Through returning the profits to South Africa, Beaded Hope is able to support the Bopelong Hospice – the largest AIDS hospice in South Africa.

For more girlfriend inspiration, check out these links:

• Daily Inspiration: Thoughtfully committed – story of Jennifer Davis and Beaded Hope
• Our Video interview with Jennifer Davis

Tags: aids/hiv, beaded hope, Beads, cathy liggett, inspiring women, jennifer davis, south africa

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND, Books, Girlfriend Gifts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.