Category Archives: Current Affairs

Help and Empower Ugandan Mothers with Shanti Uganda

Posted on by

In Uganda, 16 women die every day from complications surrounding childbirth.

That is a staggering statistic.

16 women every single day do not survive to meet their newborns. Many lose their lives or the lives of their babies soon after.

In 2012 Shanti Uganda has assisted in bringing 113 new lives into the world safely and peacefully, tested over 400 mothers and partners for HIV and other STIs, provided 1000 antenatal care appointments and run a weekly infant immunization and family planning program.

As the community grows, so do the needs of the organization.

To find out more about how you can help or just to find out more about this wonderful organization so that you can help spread the word go to Shanti Uganda: Opportunities to Give.

Read more...

27+ Days of Kindness to Honor Newtown–Remembering Noah Pozner

Posted on by

It’s been more than a month since the shooting in Newtown at Sandy Hook Elementary school…and I worry that the memory of it has already dulled in the American consciousness.  Somewhere, in between throwing around political buzzwords relating to mental illness, parenting, school safety, gun control, we need to make sure that the faces of those lost stay in our collective consciousness.

I signed up for this blog project to help create some good in the wake of this inexplicable tragedy, but I have written and deleted dozens of empty-sounding words multiple times.

It seems almost unavoidable not to fall into cliche.

Who was Noah Pozner?

A son

A twin

A lover of cheese, pickles, salmon and tacos

Read more...

Stand Up for Women’s Education on November 10 #IAmMalala

Posted on by

It is hard to imagine my life without access to education.
November 10th is my birthday. Of the 35 years that I’ve been alive, I have spent about 2/3 of them in some kind of school…elementary, high school, college and graduate school twice. I assume both my son and my daughter will take a similar path.
Not once did anybody dare to suggest that because I am a female, I should not be educated.
Not so for much of the world.
In addition to being my birthday, November 10, 2012 is exactly one month from the day that Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old girl in Pakistan, was brutally shot in the head for promoting girls’ education.

Shot.In.The.Head.

Give it a minute to sink in.

Read more...

Wordless Wednesday: Oh Sandy!

Posted on by

Some before, during and after pics of my NYC neighborhood over the last day or two.  Not necessarily in order, because it’s all kinda been a blur.  Thank goodness we were lucky enough just to have to deal with howling winds, a swaying building and stir crazy children who were stuck inside for about 36 hours.  Except for some flickering lights and spotty phone service, we even had electricity throughout.

Prayers for those who are dealing with much worse.

 

Hunkering Down for Hurricane Sandy with Coffee Ice Cubes

Posted on by

I can’t say that I’m terribly panicked about Hurricane Sandy. I live in uptown Manhattan, and though there seems to be a good chance that we will lose power and that my husband and I may have to work hard not to completely lose our minds while stuck inside with two stir-crazy kids, we should be relatively safe.

I have an empty cooler and a whole bunch of ice cubes ready, so that if power goes out I can keep perishables cold for a while. I have plenty of food, art projects and games, a fully charged DVD player and iPad, an Eton hand crank radio/flashlight/cellphone charger, candles, matches, flashlights, glow sticks and batteries.

The piece de resistance?

Read more...