Please donate to Detropia, a documentary about Detroit and its rise from the ashes - anything from 1 to $10K will make a difference and do it soon!

THE GIRL EFFECT - WATCH THIS!

The Girl Effect: The Clock is Ticking
 

www.youtube.com

A MILLION BOOKS FOR AFGHANISTAN

I am very excited about a new Red Pants for Afghanistan project--A Million Books For Afghanistan. I am committing the next three years to selling a million of my books and raising the funds to have five Afghanistan girls get the education that will make a difference in their lives and in the world. This is the beginning of that project so stay tuned!  To start with, I am gearing up with my book signings - I have one this saturday in Bloomington, Indiana at Barnes & Noble, and scheduled two more today - one in Minneapolis and one in Cincinnati. Check back later and I will keep you updated.

Care2 Educate Girls in the World

HONORING WOMEN

This week I'm sharing links in honor of the UN's CEDAW--The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women -- in celebration of women and children around the world and their right to freedom and full self-expression.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women A Priority:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/


Nepal Orphans Home - attends to the welfare of children who are orphaned, abandoned, or not supported by their parents, providing for basic needs, schooling, and health care with love and compassion:
http://www.nepalorphanshome.org/yoga_for_freedom.asp


Half The Sky Foundation:
http://www.halfthesky.org/


The Hunger Project:
http://www.thp.org/


Three Cups of Tea:
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/how-to-help/


Afghan Women's Writing Project:
http://www.awwproject.org/


And in memory of Emily, whose life continues to fully flower.

New Photos and Poetry from Afghanistan

From How2 New Writing

Peace by 

Fatana Jahangir Ahrary

Like an enervated man
Gasping for air
Like a wounded bird
Searching for remedy
Like a guilty conscience
Seeking some virtue
Like a hungry child
Craving some sustenance
Like a thirsty creature
Yearning for some water
I want some serenity
I need some harmony
I am waiting for some tranquility
Come please Come
Peace Peace Peace

Afghanistan by 

Zaheda Ghani

Afghanistan...

Paper is falling out of the sky. I am in the garden.
It’s sunny day. It comes back to me in slow
motion. I’m three years old. My father is often
amazed at the fact that I should remember this far
back into my childhood. I tell him the     
memories are unforgettable.
Paper continues to fall, communist 
propaganda literally rains down on us. The
helicopters are so noisy, so high in the sky. I
stand looking up, my arms are wide open.  I want
to catch all the pieces of falling paper.
Paper, paper, everywhere
At least it’s better than when they decide to shower
us with bullets.
Mother is at work. She is a teacher at the school
across the street. You can see it when you
go outside the huge walls of my grandparents’
property.
The walls are made of the thick hay and mud.  I
remember the walls. The height of them makes me
feel protected.  I imagine that these walls
are strong enough to stop the rockets.
I go inside the house to play behind the big black
couch in the main guestroom. This is where we
hide when the sirens sound in the middle of the
night.
One night, I hear my father pray for us to die
together if we are hit. That night he holds mother
and I close to him. I can feel him shivering as I
secretly agree with him. I’ve never seen father
frightened before.
Now, I play with my big red doll when it happens. I
hear a loud noise. I know it is a bomb. I run out
into the garden. Somehow, I find my hand in my
aunt’s hand and I am being pulled behind her.
Small feet try to keep up.
Everyone gathers outside,
smoke rises from the direction of the school. I see
it come up over the wall. The noise numbs my ears.
There is screaming and shouting on the other side
where mother is.
We run out of the gates, into the street, though I
am hesitant.  I don’t want to see her pieces lying
before me. She would be coming home for
lunch now.
All I see is smoke. My heart has stopped, my
knees shake, I know she’s gone. Everyone is
crying. My grandmother holds me.  My head is on her
chest and I watch the smoke. I don’t say a word. I want
her to walk out of the smoke. That’s all I want.
I break free of my grandmother. I stand alone, but
I do not cry. After that I don’t remember what
happens. What I do recall is my mother, running
out of the smoke. She runs towards me. I’m in her
arms. I can smell her.  She smells of mother.  She
holds me tight.  She cries as she whispers “we have
to get away from here.”
My mouth is dry.

If you are moved by these writings and pictures, please support Provence Solidaire Afghanistan or contact this blog by email to see how you can support women in Afghanistan.

New Pictures from Solidaire Provence Afghanistan

Here are new photos from Afghanistan and Nafissa - the beautiful faces of the children. I believe these are from her village where she is supporting a school. I've included two poems written by Afghani women from How2.

The beautiful poems are from How2 New Writing

http://www.asu.edu/pipercwcenter/how2journal

Written for women in Afghanistan

---

My world

Where is the ear
to hear my cries?

Where is the eye
to see my tears?

I am the ashes of a hopeless fire
Where is the wind
to refresh my flames?

I am a silent Darvish
sitting in the cell of my grief

Where is the flute

to sing my sorrows?

 by Fevziye Rahgozar Barlas

Promise

Remember you promised
When the birds fly back home
When the winter is gone
When the spring sun shines again
You will be here
You will be back
Winter is gone
Birds are back home
Spring sun is shining
But.........
You are not here
You are not back 

by Fatana Jahangir Ahrary