Look for more information on the September 30 New Haven City Hall launch of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which will include the annual Sound of Hope event on October 6 and an effort to encourage sympathetic men to wear purple ties on October 26.

Below, an August 21 post to this blog discussed related developments, including the "Stay at Home" Fundraiser of Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven.

New Haven Reads' Walk for Literacy is Saturday morning, September 25.

New Haven Reads is part of the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven.

An August 11 New York Times article, “On Polling:  Obama's Youthful Voters More Likely to Skip Midterms ,” cited a July CNN poll that found 2/5 of those aged 65 and older said they were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting in November, versus just 1/4 of those under 35.

A decade ago, in October 2000, "Don't Mistake a Low Youth Vote for Apathy" touched on related issues.

An August 7 post mentioned the films of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who has explored women's rights in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Earlier this summer, a July 31 New York Times article, “Afghan Women Fear Loss of Modest Gains,” reported “Those who have gained a measure of freedom and financial independence see little effort by officials to look out for their future.”

And a severely abused Afghan woman was pictured on the cover of Time.  Richard Stengel of Time wrote, “Our cover image… is powerful, shocking and disturbing. It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years.”

Activist Orzala Ashraf Nemat of Aghanistan was a Yale World Fellow in 2008.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky book and movement puts Afghanistan and violence against women in global context.
. . .

Locally, Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven (DVSGNH) is providing a support group for those wondering how to help their friends, daughters, nieces, sisters. 

According to the New Haven Register, “Sometimes those concerned parties call for legal information. Others want to know how they can best support the victim, and still others want to know how to approach their loved one about troubling behaviors,” said Sandra Koorejian, director of DVSGNH.

Posts to this blog on July 18, May 14, May 1 and other instances cited related laws and articles.  Please consider supporting the "Stay at Home" Fundraiser of Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven.

I recently looked at the website of the My Hero Project, with profiles by and about figures from different realms, from microfinance guru Muhammad Yunus to Erik Clemons of New Haven and LEAP.

Another website – which readers may have encountered as NPR listeners – is that of This I Believe.  The site contains both decades-old and recent essays on a wide range of beliefs.

Having years ago researched Chester Bowles – who twice served as U.S. ambassador to India and who also was governor of Connecticut and a Congressman from this state – I was especially interested in his essay.  Evoking FDR (in whose administration he had served following a lucrative advertising career), Bowles said:

“As long as two-thirds of the world is ill clad, ill housed, and ill fed, we have no right to relax in comfort.... As long as people live in fear, I must work with my fellow Americans to create a climate where faith can combat it. As long as cynical men tell me that freedom can be saved by borrowing the immoral methods of those who would destroy freedom, I must oppose them and persuade others to do so.  I believe that the survival of freedom depends not on blind fate, diplomatic trickery, or brute military strength, but upon the convictions by which we live. The most fundamental of these is a certainty that each individual life is a sacred, vital part of the universal whole, and that there is no force superior to the human spirit. I have seen ample evidence of this in our own day, when the millions of India, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, achieved their freedom without violence or bitterness. The growth of our own America has come not from the professional realists, who never worry of telling us of the things that cannot be done, but from men and women who know the power of great ideals supported by dedicated, individual effort. I believe that the democratic truths, which our Declaration of Independence once held to be self-evident, remain just as evident today. Consistent with our heritage, I believe that each of us in his daily life has the responsibility to reinforce these truths and to help extend them to all people everywhere.”
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The This I Believe site contains a brief 2006 essay I contributed on "Cushioning Globalization through Global Families" as well as thousands of other commentaries that one can browse by theme.

The American Red Cross offers many opportunities for volunteers to donate blood, which is in particular demand during vacation periods when school and corporate blood drives are limited.

During Red Cross Month, a March 21 post to this blog had discussed related issues.

The Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven is testing its new, still raw website:

http://www.literacyeveryday.org

Comments and suggestions are invited, before a fuller launch that will include a Spanish-language version -- and ultimately additional participating organizations:

info@literacyeveryday.org

I recently revisited the website of Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who before she was 30 had already made several respected documentaries.  She explores topics such as religion, culture, and human rights in countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

The news last week, as reported in a July 23 New York Times article “U.S. Releases Rules on For-Profit Colleges ,” evoked a troubling Frontline report, "College Inc."