thankful this thanksgiving

As i sit here warm and cozy with my belly bulging from all the turkey, mashed potatoes and apple pie I stuffed myself with, I can’t help but feel conscious of all those who are going to bed hungry.

www.1billionhungry.org/imaginechange/ 

Hunger Kills 3.5 Million Children Each Year ... But it doesn’t have to!

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger - roughly 8,765,812.7 a year

1/8 children under the age of 12 in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night

One out of four children - roughly 146 million - in developing countries are underweight

This thanksgiving lets be aware, inspired and give thanks by reaching out to another

For more information and live statistics check out Stop The Hunger 

ascension

   معراج

گفت: آنجا چشمۀ خورشيدهاست
آسمان‌ ها روشن از نور و صفاست
موج اقيانوس جوشان فضاست.
باز من گفتم كه: بالاتر كجاست؟
گفت: بالاتر، جهانی ديگر است
عالمی كز عالم خاكی جداست
پهن دشت آسمان بی‌انتهاست
باز من گفتم كه: بالاتر كجاست؟
گفت:بالاتر از آنجا راه نيست
زان كه آنجا بارگاه كبرياست
آخرين معراج ما عرش خداست!
باز من گفتم كه:  بالاتر كجاست!
لحظه‌ای  در ديدگانم خيره شد
گفت:اين انديشه‌ها بس نارساست!
گفتمش: از چشم شاعر كن نگاه
تا نپنداری كه گفتاری خطاست.

دورتر از چشمۀ خورشيدها؛
برتر از اين عالم بی‌انتها؛
باز هم بالاتر از عرش خدا
عرصۀ  پرواز مرغ  فكر ماست

  فريدون مشيری

Helping women stay engaged in society

The Omid-e-Mehr Foundation began in 2004 as a privately-funded charity to provide emotional and practical support for severely disadvantaged young women in Tehran. These are women who are faced with relentless emotional and financial deprivation. They are desperately vulnerable to anti-social influences, and struggle to remain engaged in society....to learn more click here

Lady of Roses

There are some people who have had such a varied and interesting life that any single part of it can be made the subject of a fascinating documentary film. The late Homayoun Sanatizadeh can undoubtedly be included in this category. He was a cultured man, a scholar, translator, entrepreneur, and one of the pioneers of modern publishing in Iran who, unlike his western counterparts, did not achieve fame and fortune in his homeland.
About thirty years ago, with the valuable assistance and cooperation of his equally enterprising wife, Shahindokht, he decided to venture into a completely different field. They started to grow roses and set up a small traditional workshop for producing rose essence in an area outside Kerman where opium poppies were grown. The project was dogged with difficulties, opposition and mishaps at every step. First, the farmers and inhabitants were strongly opposed to the idea of replacing the opium poppy with roses which they believed would be much less profitable.
This fascinating story is the subject of a film produced by the documentary film maker, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb. Entitled ‘The Lady of the Roses’, the film tells us the story of a dream come true – the dream of creating a vast rose garden in the dry and hot climate of Kerman, to replace poppies with roses and opium with rosewater, and to provide employment for 1500 families in a deprived area.

Click here for a preview

Art of Change-Making: Philanthropy at its Best

Screening of the documentary film 'Lady of the Roses,' followed by a bilingual (English/Persian) panel discussion
UCLA-CNES Bilingual Lecture Series on Iran

Location: Sunday, November 14, 2010,  
5-8 PM 

                 147 Dodd Hall
, UCLA