Parasutra’s Week of Awareness and Compassion

From April 12-20, Parasutra, a yoga and meditation studio in Palm Beach, FL, hosted a Week of Awareness and Compassion to raise awareness on international issues and benefit Women for Women International’s global programs. They sought to explain that as Milena said: “War isn’t just about bombs and people wounded. That’s not war. War is what you live every day. It is conflict in your community. Here we have had no battles. But we have many dead.” Their amazing week intertwined the practice of yoga with the philosophies of connecting and sharing with those people who are everyday affected by war.

 

The many events of the Week of Awareness and Compassion began with an open house to share powerful stories of the women and children whose lives are disrupted by conflict as well as personal experiences of working with Women for Women International. Other offerings included yoga immersion classes, charka series sessions, lectures on global nutrition, introduction to meditation, silent retreats, and finally, a walk together on the beach at sunset to wrap up the week and a final meditation to celebrate life and hope for peace.

 

Owner Connie Beaudoin explained to us at Women for Women International that she worked within the framework that she already offers to deliver this special program. She explained it was her way of “taking yoga off the mat” and practice for a higher good.

 

For more information on Parasutra’s week or ideas about how you can get your yoga community involved with Women for Women International, visit http://www.parasutra.com/news1.htm or contact Patty Pina at ppina@womenforwomen.org.

Thank you Parasutra for all your efforts and your wonderfully enlightening week!

“There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation, and support from others.  We need to understand our environment and our relationship to it.  We need to fulfill certain hungers, the need for happiness, for peace of mind, for wisdom.”

Supporter Video

At the Taste of Humanity Event in May in Del Mar, CA, Shapar Ostovar, one of the many active and dedicated supporters of Women for Women International, appeared as a guest speaker to give an inspirational speech about why she feels passionate about our programs. To watch Shapar’s speech, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ndw_SbLXPE. Thank you Shapar for your continued support!

 

Share stories or videos about your own Women for Women International events and experiences with us and we would love to feature the wonderful work you do!

 

Peek-A-Boost High Chair by VanBeek Kids

VanBeek Kids is proud to introduce their new Peek-A-Boost High Chair. Functional, high-quality, and cute: this beautiful high chair is built from solid birch wood and includes a removable and washable plastic tray, converts easily from high chair into a junior chair, and meets the highest level of High Chair Certification. The exceptional craftsmanship of the Peek-a-Boost chair will support your own child, and will also help to support other children and mothers around the world.

VanBeek kids is working with Women for Women International as one of its “Partners for Change” so that $50 from a purchase of the Peek-a Boost chair will go directly to supporting abused women survivors of war and children around the world.

For more information about the Peek-A-Boost, visit http://www.vanbeekkids.com/!

Lululemon Athletica Brunch in Arlington, VA

Event: Join Lululemon Athletica-Clarendon for their monthly complimentary brunch in September! Women for Women International will be featured at this friendly gathering so that guests can hear more about our important work with women in war torn countries. A Women for Women International representative will be on hand to talk about our work as well as answer questions and hear more from our supporters.

When: Sunday, September 14^th from 11am-12pm

Where: 2847 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201

Contact: For questions, contact Agatha at glowacki@gmail.com and for more information on Lululemon Athletica in Clarendon visit http://www.lululemon.com/arlington/clarendon!

 

The Women of the Congo: Poverty to Power Campaign

The first ever event of its kind in Ontario, Women of the Congo: Poverty to Power Campaign will be held in the city of Barrie, Ontario in Canada on August, 9th 2008! Registration for this 5 km run/walk will start at 10:30 AM in Heritage Park and end at the South Shore Community Centre.

The Women of the Congo: Poverty to Power Campaign is an inspirational initiative dedicated to helping and giving hope to women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have endured unspeakable horrors and whose lives have been torn apart because of the war. All proceeds from this event will go to Women for Women International to support the women of DR Congo.

To get more information on the Poverty to Power Campaign and to find out how you can help put it on, please contact Amanda Fournier at (705)797-0461 or alfournier@rogers.ca or Jessi Fournier at (705)333-7171 or Jessi.four@sympatico.ca.

Do your own Lone Run!

Robin Potawsky first found out about the devastating war in Congo after watching an Oprah show episode featuring Lisa Ling’s trip to Congo. She learned of the mass atrocities with militias attacking villages daily and raping women as old as 80 and as young as 5. Women for Women International Founder and CEO Zainab Salbi was also on that show and informed Robin of how she could take action to support a woman in Congo right away. She went to the Women for Women International website and decided to sponsor a sister in Congo that day.

Robin was particularly moved by a story of a woman in the Congo whose home was attacked by militants. They cut her legs and hands and even her belly with knives, machetes and guns. They started raping her in front of her boys. They asked her sons to hold her legs and hands apart as they tried to tie her body parts. They then asked one of her boys to rape her. But he begged them not to. When her son refused, they broke his leg.

Robin couldn’t get her story out of her head. She felt very connected because she herself had a son, Yuri, and she couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be in this woman’s place. She kept thinking about their strength and courage.

It was about a year later when she read about Lisa Shannon and the Run for Congo Women in Women for Women International’s newsletter. Robin knew she wanted to do something to help women in Congo.

She started reaching out to friends and family members. She remembers her first contribution being only $5 – but she was so thrilled when she received it. She would talk to anyone that would listen about the Congo – so much to the point that Robin jokes that when people see her coming they will say, “Here comes that Run for Congo Women lady.”

Although she wasn’t much of a runner, she decided she was going to run 12 miles on the same day that Lisa Shannon ran her second Run for Congo Women in Portland, OR.

Robin trained for a little while before she began her lone run — but had only run 4.5 miles before she ran the 12 miles on the day of her run. As she ran and hit mile 8 and 9 and 10 — the pain and exhaustion started to set in. Each time she thought about stopping, she kept persevering because she knew she had to finish and honor the Congolese woman and her son. She finished all 12 miles, with her son Yuri riding his bike beside her the whole way.

On her first run, Robin raised $1,400 to support women in Congo, mostly from small donations. Thank you Robin for all that you’ve done.

For more information on how to do your own Lone Run – click here!

Young and Tone Wedding

Clare Young has been very involved with Women for Women International for several years, sponsoring sisters from Afghanistan, Rwanda and Iraq. On August 31^st, she will be getting married to Kevin Tone in a beautiful and intimate Colorado ceremony. They have decided to perform a true act of selflessness by asking their wedding guests to donate to their favorite charities as a special wedding present to them. Clare has truly given us a great honor by choosing Women for Women International as a charity to have her guests donate to.

Visit their wedding website www.youngtonewedding.com and read more about their inspirational decision.

Thank you to Clare and Kevin for your kind and generous support and congratulations!

The Pink Compass

Pink Compass is a media company dedicated to encouraging and supporting women in achieving peace and balance in their lives and most importantly, finding direction. This is accomplished through their weekly article additions, blogs, polls and events dedicated to helping women further themselves professionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.

Visit http://www.thepinkcompass.com to get more information today! The Pink Compass donates a portion of their proceeds to Women for Women International.

The She Spot

In The She Spot, Co-authors Lisa Witter and Lisa Chen, senior executives at Fenton Communications reveal the secret to changing the world…women. Their fresh focus on how women assume a leading role in donating and contributing to change the world for the better.

Women for Women International’s Founder and CEO, Zainab Salbi says “The She Spot elevates the discussion of women’s role in transformative social change and offers smart, practical strategies for tapping into the potential of this vital constituency. Women’s issues are society’s issues and, as the authors make clear, understanding the nuances of gaining and retaining women’s support is an absolutely necessary element of any successful social endeavor.”

To learn more, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI89WhcjUaE to see the authors discuss their ideas.

Purchase your own copy of the book and a portion of the proceeds will go to Women for Women International!