Even a smile is charity

I have often tried to keep business and pleasure seperate but have made a huge mistake in doing so with this blog and my involvement (over the past year plus) with Draw a Smile.

Draw A Smile is forever keeping us all busy and what with the encroaching deadlines at uni I have often needed a productive distraction for breaks in reading. Essentially for me, thats where the Draw a Smile blog emerged from. However it has long been apparent to the founder (Ahmed Ali) and I that alot more can be said for what we (smilers) do on a day to day basis. Although we have the web site and the facebook page they are often used as a marketing or advertising tool where as every vollunteer that works at DAS has thousands of experiences to share. Experiences that have changed our lives and shaped our memories.

Please check us out, you don't know what your missing!

Website: http://www.drawasmile.org.uk/

Blog: http://evenasmileischarity.blogspot.com/ (still in progress)

Aid EGYPT - the quest to help our heroes

As some of you that pass through my blog may know, I am a very proud and devout member and one of the managers to Draw a Smile. Draw a smile is now a registered charity raising thousands of pounds week by week by the invaluable effort of young people in the UK. It aims to do one thing only which is to Draw a Smile onto the faces of orphans worldwide. The majority of the group, self excluded are Egyptian which is why it made sense to start this astronomical task within a country they were familiar with. Draw A Smile now has a sister organisation called aidEGYPT which, of course was fuelled by the protests that started and ended this month.

Last Sunday I had the rare opportunity to attend a Draw A Smile/Aid Egypt function as a guest and experience the impact of the message myself and others strive so hard to deliver; that Together We Can!

The charity Dinner was held at Assaha restaurant renowned for its ambient interior and high standard food although none of the 100+ attendees that Sunday night noticed a bit of it. Along with a fantastic speech given by a young UK Egyptian male that decided to go over during the crisis and see what was going on for himself, was this video made by a fellow DAS member and friend.

It is my pleasure to share it with you all, whom ever may be watching and hope that it breeds the same level of consciousness into you that it did in me.

Allahu Akbar

Words to make you seem smart

I have never understood the real reason for writers/scholars etc to use such In-pronounceable, long-winded, phrasing/wording when such a simpler universal word always seems to exist within its shadow. I seem to find myself reducing paragraphs down to sentences that make far more sense from these convoluted texts;

con-vo-lut-ed

kon-vuh-loo-ted

-adjective

complicated, intricately involved.

My point entirely! why not just say complex? Sure, it could just be my lack in intellectualism and I would accept that if it wasn't for the fact that I KNOW I am not the only one to complain about this!

Yes I am ranting on and yes I love language! But come on, I have 10,000 words to write by the end of 2 months time (shouldn't really be using them all up on here either :/) do you know how much reading that is! Aye-Kerrumba!

So, I am going to build up a little vocab list hoping it will help to make words like convoluted hold the same value in my pea-brain as its counter part 'complicated'.

I guess the best way would be to start it on its own page so as not to disturb any light reading (which is often than not all my blog offers). And please don't judge if my ignorance becomes oh too evident on such a page :s

Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

Came across this after browsing a new blog I'm into http://whatmyworldslike.com/ written by a beautiful inspiring lady. Seen as I haven't heard this since it was released and due to the fact I was allot younger ergo allot more ignorant, it seems as if it is only now that I am able to realise how profound this really is. Enjoy x

Have you got a minute?

From next Monday Londoners will literally be able to sell 'a minute of your time'. So next time an annoying anorak with a servey asks for 'just a minute of your time madame' you can point him in the direction of Brixton market vending machine called Brick Box where he/she will be able to buy a dvd of a minute of your time!

Artist Brian Lobel will be willing and waiting for all those that wish to aid his project of 'Carpe Minuta Prima' (seize the minute) in Brixton market between 10am-6pm, 21st-26 Feb and 4th-10th March @ Brick Box 41 Granville Arcade, SW9 8PS.

NIQABITCH

Once you get over your shock, and you open your mind and drop your own prejudices, I hope that you find this protest to be what it is, a freedom of speech.

These ladies retaliated to the ban on niqab and hijab in France by producing this protest of their own. You may not like it but they certainly have a point.

By mixing the sacred with the profane they illustrate the ridicule we bring ourselves by placing such importance on fabric. Yes! I wear the hijab! but I wear it for my own reasons that are largely assosciated with religious ones but that is neither here nor there. One of the reasons I wear it and keep it is because I feel that I should be free to wear what I want in as much of an abundance as I like or as little for that matter.

Maybe it is the boom of the fashion industry that have ours and other western societies so obsessed with outward appearence, I don't know.

Some people hate these woman for what they did, and I'm sure the majority of which were muslim! can you believe it!!!!!! muslims! like me, asking for the right and freedom to wear what pleases them and yet tearing these women down for exorcising the same right- ok sure they were doing it purely for provocation - but as long as we want freedom of speach then we will have to listen to a whole lot of things that we don't necesarily like or want to hear and we shouldn't complain whilst doing so either.

The message is clear! freedom for all and hipocracy for none, its just a shame that they had to walk in the shoes of those they are trying to reach out to... NO I don't mean muslims, I mean hypocrites.

Think what you will, I commend them and I'm proud to do so

kulu haga

When I'm happy, I am with you,

When I am bored, I seek you out,

When I am tired, I pray for you to visit me in my dreams,

When I'm sad, the sight of you eases me,

When I'm angry, I humble myself for your sake,

When I'm depressed, I long for you,

When I'm confused, you are the one that brings clarity,

When I am worried, you give me that sense of hope,

When I'm lonely, its because you are not there,

When I'm hopefull, its because I saw your smile,

When I'm anxious, its because I can't get enough of you,

When Allah blesses me with so much ability to feel and to know and to have, I wonder at the glory of the mercy of God and how on us he has bestowed his grace.

Friends

Through the years of life, you hear many proverbs and short tales of advise.

'You will be able to count your friends onto 1 hand'

I never really apreciated that saying to it's full, untill slowly, you realise that you no longer seem to be counted on the hands of those friends that may feature on yours.

Sa3eed

His name was sa3eed, from Ghana and he called out to me with peace. In just 10 minutes he had given me a silent smile that reverberated through my soul and felt like it would last forever.

He wore a tweed flat cap and thread bear finger-less woollen gloves. He presented me with enlarged laminated pictures of his youth his wedding day, his boxing career and an old band poster which had featured in a succession of countries, one of which being Finland where he had learnt a new language and lost a marriage.

He spoke of Ummar the warrior companion and recited Jibra'ils message to the prophet (saaws) in an excitable stammered pattern, contrary to the scholars and their precision. In this broken & almost un-audible sound of his, the Qur'an echoed its original beauty in an un-orthadox way.

I walked away to the sound of his guitar and the strength of his kindness.

This is the power of communication!

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

BE WITH THE REVOLUTION!