Not just any football beads

IOWA CITY -- Upper left corner of the kiosk. Those aren't just "football" beads. They are a way to help people.

The upper left corner of the beads kiosk at the Hawk Shop in Iowa City. Those are the beads you want. The beads are made out of recycled paper carefully cut into long strips, rolled around a needle and secured with glue.

They are the ChildVoice Beads. They are made in northern Uganda. And that is where this story begins.

The mission statement of ChildVoice International, a Christian organization, is "seeking to restore the voices of children silenced by war." Currently, ChildVoice's only program is in northern Uganda, where rebel battles have ravaged communities for years.

"Maybe it's not unique, maybe it's happening in other parts of the world, too," said Dr. Neil Mandsager, a Des Moines physician and member of the ChildVoice board of directors, "but this war had a profound effect on children."

Children were being abducted and forced to fight as child soldiers. Women were being forced to marry rebel commanders, which also included sex slavery.

"They were forced as kids to do some unimaginable things," Mandsager said. "They were forced to kill other kids escaping and sometimes were forced to even go back and kill other family members."

ChildVoice takes up the cause of these women and children. In 2007, ChildVoice opened a medical clinic near the community of Lukodi in nothern Uganda. It's also opened a maternity center. In 2008, the ChildVoice Centre of Lukodi opened in a renovated school building that had been abandoned during the war.

The Centre provides a safe haven for young girls who were abducted by rebels to catch up on education, receive counseling and learn a job skill. More than 60 girls have gone through the program.

ChildVoice also has built new primary school and drilled a new well for the community.

In 2009, ChildVoice started an income generating project for all the women in the area. These are where the beads come in. The beads project provides a wage for the women from the Lukodi community who work there and funding for ChildVoice.

ChildVoice is an organization that is rooted in Iowa. Mandsager and his brother, Conrad, were raised in Marshalltown. They are children of medical missionaries. Neil Mandsager was born in Cameroon and spent eight years there. He's gone to Uganda each of the last four years.

How did the ChildVoice beads end up in Iowa City, at the Hawk Shop and the University Book Store?

Last year, when the Hawkeyes were on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Dr. Mandsager took a few copies over and had the "bead ladies" make the Hawkeye SI cover into necklaces.

He contacted Mary Ferentz, wife of Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz. She was flattered and thought it was wonderful. Of course, she won't wear the SI necklace on gamedays. You know, the SI cover jinx, which did get the Hawkeyes in '09 (they lost to Northwestern that week).

"I look at the beads as a connection for something that Neil does as far away as Uganda to us here at home," she said. "If we can bring visibility to ChildVoice and their work, the more people who know, the more people who will help."

They brainstormed and came up with the black and gold beads.

"You make anything in black and gold, they'll sell in Iowa City," she said.

"We're trying to bring some class to the whole bead market," Mandsager joked.

Mandsager has done the legwork on this. He is working with print shops on paper donations. He's taking the black and gold paper to Uganda for the beads production. And, yes, the ChildVoice beads have gone through the official UI licensing process.

The Hawk Shop and University Book Store are the only places the ChildVoice beads are available now.

More than 90 percent of the money donated, including the sales of the beads, goes directly to cover ChildVoice expenses. Future projects include a new Centre on land that had been given to ChildVoice, located across the road from the current site. The new Centre would accommodate approximately 300 children/young adults. The immediate goal to build is 12 to 18 months.

The beads on the upper left of the kiosk at the Hawk Shop. Those are the ones you want. They help people.

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If you would like to make a donation to ChildVoice, here is the website. You can purchase the bead necklaces on the ChildVoice website. Also, donations can be mailed to the home office in Durham, N.H.

The video below will give you a visual perspective of what ChildVoice does in Lukodi.