See Beautiful Girl of the Month: Elizabeth Grantham

Elizabeth Grantham is beautiful. She celebrates it. She creates it. She lives it. Growing beautiful, that's what she does.

At the age of eight, Elizabeth transformed the way she looked at the world with a simply wondering. It was that wondering that shifted the way she saw and created beautiful in the world. It was that question that's led us to being in awe and completely inspired by the work she's doing in the world. Nominated by her month, we quickly learned what a perfect See Beautiful Girl of the Month Elizabeth is. Now 11, she owns the title every day!

Elizabeth is an inspiration to her family, community, and a community thousands of miles away. She passes on this beauty by the work she does in her non-profit and her promotion of another family member's non-profit.

In a few short years, Elizabeth has created a beautiful life - not only for herself - but for others. It is a gift for us all. Thank you, Elizabeth. We are honored to celebrate you as our See Beautiful Girl of the month!

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See Beautiful Girl of the Month: ELIZABETH GRANTHAM

Elizabeth Grantham. Shared with permission.

                                                                                                      Written by Elizabeth Grantham

Have you ever had a moment in your life that changed the way you saw everything? When I was 8 years old, my sister and I were in the car with my mom when we passed a lady holding a sign that read “please help.” My mom explained that she was homeless which of course led to more questions, such as, “what is homeless?”  When we learned that there were people that actually didn’t have a place to call home and were hungry, we knew we had to help.

Image shared with permission by Elizabeth Grantham

Initially we came up with funny ideas like throwing water bottles out the window with dollar bills attached.  But then a birthday gift of beads gave us the perfect solution.  We could make jewelry, sell it, and give money to those that were without basic needs.  And Beads of Good was born, a non-profit group helping those without basic needs.

Image shared with permission from Elizabeth Grantham.

Since then, I celebrated my 11th birthday and several other moments have greatly impacted me and challenged me to have a deeper compassion for those in difficult circumstances.  The first impacting moment occurred when I got an email from one of the orphans that my family sponsors in Zimbabwe.  We have two sisters there, Grace and Precious.  Precious wrote a note to me and told me that she has HIV Aids.  All I could do was cry.  It made me so mad because I felt helpless to make things right.  Second, we were presented with an opportunity to help young women in Nigeria that are being sold as child brides to care for their families and are victims of trafficking and gender-based violence.

Image shared with permission by Elizabeth Grantham.

Both of these experiences left me heartbroken.  Every morning now I wake up thinking about my sister in Africa with HIV Aids and the young girls in Nigeria that are being robbed of their childhood.  This has all made me realize the importance of caring for the world’s most vulnerable to disease and acts of violence—children and women in poverty and without basic needs or a family to care for them.

Although I have become aware of so much pain—homelessness, hunger, disease, violence—I have been challenged with the opportunity to BE beautiful for girls in Africa.  I have been challenged to act on behalf of those that have no voice, the vulnerable, even the forgotten.

Elizabeth (11), Bailey (2), Allison (8) - Image shared with permission.

We live in a world that tells young girls they are an item to be possessed. My sister and I are not okay with that message!  I think all girls everywhere should be seen for what they have to offer society.  They should be seen for who they are.  They are creative, strong, nurturing, musical, artistic, emotional, graceful, and loved by God.  They are beautiful.  And they can choose to make everything beautiful around them.

Allison and Elizabeth "hanging out" and seeing beautiful!

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So, we chose to step up and take action.  Now Beads of Good has partnered with an organization in Nigeria to provide an artisan vocation for young women that are rescued from becoming child brides or victims of trafficking.  They will be handcrafting beautiful Ankara fabric beads that will become a source of income and allow them to attend high school.  We will soon be selling our designs to advance the dreams of young women in Nigeria!  Visit us at www.beadsofgood.wordpress.com.

Be beautiful,
 Elizabeth

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