Beyond Belief - New Documentary at Tribeca Film Fest

For those of you in NYC, the sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival starts this week. It's a great time for cinefiles to catch documentaries, feature films and shorts, some of which never make it to the theatres, not for lack of quality, but lack of mainstream marketability. Hopefully that will not be the fate of Beyond Belief, a documentary about two American suburban housewives and their life-changing trip to Afghanistan. See below for more about the film and go to the Tribeca Film Fest Guide for tickets and showtimes.

From the filmmakers:
Filmed in the United States and Afghanistan, BEYOND BELIEF is the latest work from Beth Murphy, award-winning director/producer of documentaries, and journalist for television & radio news for 18 years. Her latest film is a story of hope and humanity, and tells the story of Susan Retik and Patti Quigley who are ordinary soccer moms until tragedy strikes. After losing their husbands on September 11th, Susan and Patti discover a powerful bond with each other, an unlikely kinship with widows halfway around the world, and a profound way to move beyond tragedy.

“Resolute to provide the same kind of support that sustained them through their tragedies, Patti and Susan dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression – factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. Over the course of two years, the film follows how the women cope with loss, struggle and determination to raise their families as single mothers. When just clips from the film appeared on national television on the Oprah show, the featured Afghan organization received considerable donations in 2 days...money that will go a long way in educating young women! More than simply sending girls to school, the film will inspire more donations that will go directly to women for them to become self-sufficient -- so they can take care of themselves and their children. Once the film is seen by wider audiences, the results can mean more ongoing support for the desperate women of Afghanistan.”

The New Yorker on the Importance of Education in Developing Nations

Very interesting article in last week's New Yorker on "India's Skills Famine". It reiterates a point that has been a staple of our regular presentations and speeches to our event attendees - the history of economic progress points to success rooted in significant government and societal investment in education. In the persistent chicken and egg discussions for the basis for economic progress in developing countries, the argument in favor of the importance of education has a significant lead. An excerpt:

"Since the Second World War, the countries that have made successful leaps from developing to developed status have all poured money, public and private, into education. South Korea now spends a higher percentage of its national income on education than nearly any other country in the world. Taiwan had a system of universal primary education before its phase of hypergrowth began. And, more recently, Ireland’s economic boom was spurred, in part, by an opening up and expansion of primary and secondary schools and increased funding for universities."

Nick Kristoff Plugs DIL!

New York Times Columnist Nick Kristoff mentioned DIL in his April 7th blog entry following up on his column about Hasina Bibi, a woman in Meerwala, Pakistan attempting to get justice for the rape and murder of her 11 year old daughter. Kristoff, who many credit with bringing the dire situation in Darfur to light, received hundreds of responses to the Hasina Bibi story from people looking to help women in Pakistan and in response he wrote:

"In a broader sense, the way to prevent other tragedies like [these] is to encourage education for girls in Pakistan. One great organization that does that is Developments in Literacy; it now operates 200 schools for girls in Pakistan."

Many commented on his post thanking him for pointing out ways people in America, a world away, can help and DIL saw a significant increase in donations from these many generous souls.

Kristoff first learned about DIL from our Patron, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General, and we thank him for mentioning us as a potential solution to some of the issues faced by women in Pakistan.

BTW, you need to be a Times Select subscriber to access the full article and blog.

Network of Indian Professionals Literacy Awareness Event

On March 22nd, one of the most beautiful days of early spring in New York, YOUR DIL shared the floor with non-profit Room to Read in a literacy awareness event organized by the Network of Indian Professionals (Net-IP) and generously sponsored by JP Morgan. The view of midtown Manhattan from the 49th floor of the JP Morgan building was gorgeous. Once attendees had a chance to enjoy the view and mingle, they got to hear speeches made by the founder and President of the National Chapter of YOUR DIL, Samar Sheharyar, and the New York Chapter Head of Room to Read, Holly Huffman. The speeches, which were informative and sincere, sparked many interesting questions from the attendees. It was wonderful to see three youth targeted organizations, Net-IP, Room to Read, and YOUR DIL, collaborate, show such respect for each others work and learn from each other. It is this motivation, enthusiasm and respect that make these organizations able to be so successful in working towards their goals.

The profit from the night were split between YOUR DIL and Room to Read. Since this event had a different flavor from our other YOUR DIL events, we would love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to leave comments or email us with your thoughts and suggestions!

-Sophia Umar NYC Chapter Head