The Last Post

Today, I come to the end of my journey. Thank you all for being a beautiful part of it.

The Art of Generosity

During Ramadan, I first came to know about this community service project called Baity Baitak (My Home is Your Home). Established in Jeddah, the project basically aims at helping families in need through providing home furnishings and renovations. You can think of the project as a Saudi version of the popular TV show Extreme Makeover-Home Edition, yet with two differences. First,the generous efforts behind this project are not aired on a TV show. Second, the Saudi project, ironically, seems to lack the sufficient financial support that it obviously needs in order to fulfill its noble cause.

The main mission of this charitable project is to provide a healthy, safe environment for less-privileged families in Jeddah, in addition to raising public awareness about the importance of social solidarity. Mohammad Malaekah (22 years old), founder of Baity Baitak, ambitiously aspires to expand his project to cover all areas in the Kingdom. Although Mohammad seems to inwardly laments having poor people in a country that is widely known for its wealth, he is determined and very enthusiastic in putting a smile on those people's faces and making an enormous difference in their lives.

The creativity of Baity Baitak, I believe, doesn't limit its fruitful outcomes to helping those in need but proudly sets itself as an inspirational example for all Saudi youth to follow.

On Dreams

I have been happy, tho' in a dream.

I have been happy- and I love the theme:

Dreams! in their vivid coloring of life,

As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife

Of semblance with reality, which brings

To the delirious eye, more lovely things

Of Paradise and Love- and all our own!

Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known.

~ Edgar Allan Poe ~

Blog Action Day 2008

Today, October 15, bloggers world wide unite on the second annual Blog Action Day to raise awareness and exchange viewpoints on poverty. The nonprofit event strongly believes in the power of the blogging community in making a difference in the world. Therefore, the major aim behind this event is to initiate interactive discussions in which bloggers share ideas, opinions and solutions regarding the global dilemma. This is my humble contribution.

Since this year’s theme is poverty, I thought pictures speak louder than words.

I mentioned in a previous post that I found this picture the most heartrending of all. I still do.

Global Poverty Fact Sheet:

- 1.2 billion people live on less than U.S.$1 dollar a day.

- Over half of the world's population - 3 billion people -lives on less than U.S.$2 per day.

- Every year, 6 million children die from malnutrition before their 5th birthday.

- Over 11 million children die each year from preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.

Ways to Help:

Now cynics might sneer but there are actually several ways in which you can contribute and take action against poverty. Here are some of them just to put you on the way:

- The FreeRice.com site (previous post here) is a creative way with which you can help reduce world hunger by simply playing word games.

- The Hunger Site has a similar idea. By clicking on the yellow "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button, you help provide food to those who need it the most.

- Donate! The UN WFP , for instance, mainly depends on voluntary donations that effectively help feed deprived people worldwide. Don't be held back thinking that only big amounts of money can make a difference. You would be amazed how small donations go a long way in fighting poverty and hunger worldwide.

- Help raise the awareness, educate people, especially children, about the issue of poverty and its destructive aspects and motivate them to be part of the change.

* The first two websites are totally free.

Activism is required, change is possible.

Indecisive Rambling

It all started with a quote I read on SubZeroBlue:

" Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. "

Steve Jobs

How do you find courage to make a life-changing decision? How do you avoid all the hesitation, the sense of bewilderment, the fear of future regrets in addition to people's opinions and simply follow your inner voice? How do you win the battle of mind vs. heart without eventually getting trapped in between and watching life slipping away in front of you?

Happy Eid

Die, Mickey! DIE DIE!

"Mickey Mouse must die" . That's what Muhammad Al Munajid, a well-known Saudi cleric, recently said when answering a viewer's question regarding mice. In his defense, Mickey Mouse is " a corrupting influence" and accordingly must be killed.

But he warned that depictions of the creature in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, and Disney's Mickey Mouse, had taught children that it was in fact loveable.

Poor Mickey, he'll be soon heartlessly beheaded. But the question remains; how can you actually kill a cartoon character?

Any thoughts?