Paper bead bracelets made by our Botswana caregivers from old FIFA brochures were distributed to 350 FIFA staff members in Zurich on World AIDS day. Football, AIDS orphans and waste paper do not suggest any immediate synergy but all three came together in a very happy solution, making sure that 2012 school fees will be paid and this year's Christmas will be celebrated.

Mothers for All beaded necklaces featured prominently at a recent fashion show in Gaborone, Botswana showcasing local designers including the internationally acclaimed Motswana fashion designer, Koteso Chiepe, as well as New York designer, Indashio, who is also a celebrated fashion stylist, personality and TV star.

In partnership with the Botswana government the European Union recently awarded grants totalling 6.8 million Pula (£635 000) to 14 different non-profit organisations as part of a capacity-building programme for 2011. Mothers for All was one of the beneficiaries and we now, therefore, have funding to roll out workshops in food gardening and product diversification for our mothers during the forthcoming year.

Peggy Busby, a family therapist, and her small prayer group in Dallas, Texas have become our best sales women. Peggy's work has been primarily with children in need and so, on hearing about the work of Mothers for All in Botswana decided this would be a good way to turn their prayer into action.

In acknowledgement of World AIDS Day, Mothers for All wants to draw your attention to a few of the countless amazing people and organisations courageously and creatively working to help those affected by the HIV epidemic in southern Africa. They are celebrated on the AIDSbuzz.org website as champions. A champion means a conqueror, a hero, a victor and a winner. It also describes a person who fights for a cause or another person. Both of these descriptions perfectly fit the people who are profiled on this website, which also includes our Mothers for All.

McNab's has been a keen supporter of Mothers for All, SA for some time now as our mission complements their sustainability ethos. The company operates from The Energy Works, an award-winning, environmentally friendly building in Johannesburg and specialises in producing nutritional supplements and foods that provide sustainable energy. At a recent disco party sponsored by McNab's at the Vacca Matta Monte Casino in Johannesburg it was decided that the entrance fee would go to Mothers for All.

Barclays Botswana recently ran a financial counselling workshop for 18 of our mothers in Selebi-Phikwe. This group included mothers from Selebi-Phikwe, Semolale and Bobonong. The mothers all loved the workshop and particularly enjoyed meeting some of the other mothers from neighbouring towns and villages and sharing experiences.

The October issue of the South African Oprah magazine features an article by Susan Storm about the Mothers for All project and the Travelling Bead necklace she created out of our mothers’ recycled paper beads to raise funds for the organisation.

In 2009 Eurosport, in partnership with the US Soccer Foundation, commissioned Mothers for All to make 900 GOAL bracelets out of old Eurosport catalogues for distribution at regional soccer tournaments around the US.  The Soccer Foundation and Eurosport, a leading grass roots soccer company, sponsor many community upliftment projects both within the US and around the world. The Mothers for All GOAL bracelet project has been so successful that another 1,300 bracelets have been ordered and more Eurosport catalogues are now on their way to Botswana to be recycled by our mothers into beautiful paper bead bracelets.

Mothers for All is delighted to announce that Mary McGee, a US Peace Corps Volunteer, will be spending the next two years in Selibe-Phikwe working with us. Mary brings a range of much needed skills, as well as enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure, after years in public library service in California and Alaska followed by work with the US Forest Service leading tours in limestone caves and glacier cruises around Alaska.

Thanks to the Barclays UK grant, Mothers for All has been able to start rolling out papermaking workshops amongst our 15 active groups all over Botswana. These workshops have been very successful so far and will enable us to soon launch a whole range of additional products, such as recycled writing paper, cards, envelopes, books and gift boxes.

Mothers for All delivered its first commissioned art work to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Foundation in Cape Town on the 14th May. The mission of this newly established Foundation is to help create a society where strong leadership and collaboration lead to sustained behavioural changes in the fields of health and education, with a special focus on HIV and AIDS. The Foundation asked Mothers for All to recreate the logo of their Live the Future programme using our paper beads. This is what we came up with, to widespread enthusiasm and acclaim.

No longer content with making recycled paper beads in their own homes, our Mothers in Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana decided to pass their skills and the concept of recyling on to children into local primary schools. This event was much enjoyed by both the Mothers and the children and we hope to make it an integral part of the project.

The travelling recipe bead necklace has begun its journey – a journey which actually started in Botswana where our first group of mothers carefully crafted each paper bead out of discarded recipe books before sending them on to Australia to be fashioned into this extraordinary necklace. Mothers for All is happy to announce that Robert and Merry Pearson of Narrabeen in Sydney won the inaugural auction in December and became its first custodians amidst a riot of drumming, dancing feasting and bead-making demonstrations.

Most of the time we remain completely unaware of the consequences of our words and actions - good or bad. Like pebbles tossed into a lake we may notice the initial splash but not where the ripples go. Every now and then we discover how far some ripples travel and realise just how connected we all are.