afghanhands

AH press on blogs

http://kentonmagazine.com/fashion-fuels-hands-and-hearts-at-orlane-and-afghan-hands-2nd-annual-fundraiser-to-launch-the-nazaneen-toloui-foundation/

Second Annual Fundraiser at Longchamp Soho September 30, 2010

The event was a great success due to hard work of our friends who helped us raise enough funds to maintain the project for the next 6 months.

Claire Danes, Matin Maulawizada & Cynthia Nixon
 

Nastassja Balick, Claire Danes & Anthony Coppers

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon, Jack Sandbach & Claire Danes

Matin & Jessica Seinfeld

Kelley Killoren Bensimon

Emma Snowdon-Jones

Olivier Cassegrain and Marie-Laure Fournier

Federal Express seems to have lost our package. It's been almost 3 weeks and they still don't know where the box is..

Toronto

Not winning the BBC challenge was like being gutted alive especially since we needed the money for the tough year we had due to awful global economy. We have been trying all we can to keep Afghan Hands at the scale we are operating and not to cut any jobs unless we are completely threatened to fold but I pray that it would never happen.
Since I did not have a lot of good news in the latter part of last year, I was not inspired to write but things are changing at least for one family.
We have been working with a family from the time I went back to Kabul the first time. It was my childhood friend Nazir's family that was left alone for years after his very early and untimely death. His little boy Rafiq has been working as an auto mechanic apprentice in order to provide for his mother, his 3 sisters and his late younger brother who at age 10 took his own life last year and broke our hearts.
We pushed Rafiq back to school where in the past 5 years he finished hight school. He interned at Tolo TV and fell in love with filmmaking and FINALLY two month ago, we were able to sponsor them with the help of my hero, Adina Niazi and bring the family to Toronto. In the process that took years, we lost one of the sisters to an arranged marriage to a distant relative forced by the grandparents at age 15. But I'm relieve to say, 2 girls and a boy with their mother are now in Toronto with possibilities beyond what they ever thought possible.
I will have news and photos in coming days.

Let's pray for good new.

BBC WORLD CHALLENGE VOTE IS OVER!

WE CAME IN 7TH PLACE. I AM DISAPPOINTED BUT I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. 

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR US.

MIKE

Dear World Challenge Finalists,

 

After a record breaking response from audiences around the world, the voting phase of the World Challenge 09 is now closed. Over 120 thousand votes were received and I am happy to announce this year’s top three finalists.

 

In alphabetical order they are:

 

·         A Bright Idea (Safe Bottle Lamp Project) – from Sri Lanka

·         Love n’ Haiti (South-South Cooperation Project) – from Haiti

·         Nothing Wasted (Danamon Go Green, Danamon Peduli Foundation) – from Indonesia

How much can a nation endures?

Today the news had the 6.4 earthquake which in a place like Afghanistan means total destruction of mud brick houses and God knows what kind of casualties in terms of human life. Days like this really tests my faith in the whole universe and it's God. What have we done as a nation to deserve blow after blow. It doesn't get poorer, sicker, more devistated than it gets in Afghanistan. Is God even watching what is going on in this world??
Please take a moment and reason withe whichever God you pray to, to just stop this punishment of an innocent mass of people in Afghanistan and only take it out on those that are corrupt and are benefiting in human misery.

Vote Afghan Hands!!!

Dearest friends...
Voting is still open for the BBC World Challenge 09.
Please vote and let everyone know why you think Afghan women deserve an education!!!
Love and peace

BBC World Challenge 2009

Voting has begun. To cast your vote, please follow the link:

BBC World Challenge 2009

Jolibe 2010 Spring Exhibition

Our friends at Jolibe are hosting Spring 2010 Exhibition this Wednesday. Women of Afghan Hands did embroidery for the collection. 

AFGHAN WOMEN - FAR FROM EQUAL

I FOUND THIS VIDEO ON LINE AND THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING.