Dear readers:
My apologies for the very rare updates to this blog.
Many of you responded positively to my interview with Valerie Khan Yusufzai of the Acid Survivors Foundation of Pakistan.
I have been in regular touch with Valerie and the staff of the Acid Survivors Foundation of Pakistan since the 2010 floods, which have affected over 20 million people – including survivors of acid violence.
Valerie and her team are helping both survivors of acid violence and their surrounding communities to recover from the devastation of the floods. We have been discussing the coordination of small shipments of aid (including clothing, mosquito repellant and food) from the United States, but need your help. We realize that it is actually more expensive to purchase and ship goods from the US, Canada and Europe to Pakistan than it would be for the ASF-Pakistan team to purchase these goods themselves with donated funds. In this economy, many of us may only be able to donate a few dollars – which wouldn’t ship anything internationally, but will buy food locally.
If you are interested in donating any amount to the Acid Survivors Foundation of Pakistan, please click here for bank information as well as a link to a donation form. The Acid Survivors Foundation of Pakistan is part of Acid Survivors Trust International. Please visit their site as well to answer any questions you might have about their work, goals, and finances.
Other links:
Beautifully Wrapped is a calendar project to support 10,000 Girls in Senegal. Click here to learn more and order. (Ships worldwide via Amazon.)
Click here for an August 2010 article in Portugal’s Publica (weekend edition of Portugal’s largest daily, Publico), about why I don’t support a ban on the niqab. (Portuguese.)
And click here for my interview with Muna AbuSulayman for Aquila Asia, a magazine for cosmopolitan Muslim women in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Raquel Evita Saraswati 
As salaam alaikum sis,
I have the “Beautifully Wrapped” calendar (which is hanging on my bulletin board at work) and the male clients of mine have been commenting on your beauty and wondering who you are. It’s to the point now where I am excited for the next month because I’m tired of them lingering around my desk asking a thousand and one questions about how to get in touch with you. LOL. May Allah bless you.