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A free woman's voice opens as a flower to the sun.

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The train picks up speed. Education becomes her POWER. And the roar of the train becomes deafening and irresistible. I WILL rise! She WILL rise! They WILL rise!    #Womensvoice1

10/29/2016

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​ “We know that educating girls is the smartest investment of our time. When girls are educated, communities thrive and economies grow. Yet 62 million girls are missing from classrooms worldwide, and tremendous opportunities are lost.
 My passion for Poetry for social change and the subsequent birth of Womensvoice1 initially stemmed from my firm belief that a world where more women have a voice would be a very different world.
When Malala was shot by the Taliban in 2012, I wrote a poem
Dedicated to Malala, featured on its own page of my blog.
 Malala’s bravery and determination to continue with her own education, as well as encourage other girls, despite death threats by the suppressive Taliban regime, was an inspiration to all with a huge Domino effect across the world.
The Malala fund was born, the film Girl Rising was created , conceptualizing  the Let girls Learn initiative, and now spawning a new movie about the importance of girls education, called We will Rise.
 Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World  has prompted this new film by CNN.
It is about girls overcoming unfathomable obstacles to achieve their education, and change their lives. 
The Documentary Group, which produced CNN’s ‘
Girl Rising,’ also produced this one-hour film called WE Will Rise.
 The film includes contributions from Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Frieda Pinto, and CNN journalist  Isha Sesay. The musical theme for the film is “Rise up” written by Andra Day.
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“You're broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can't find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains
We gonna walk it out
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
For you
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet
And move mountains
Bring it to its feet
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times a day
For You”

​by Andra Day.

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Let Girls Learn is a United States government initiative to ensure adolescent girls get an education. Around the world, young and adolescent girls face many obstacles to an education. Some are forbidden by their "religious" doctrine, such as the Taliban;  some are forbidden by certain African Tribal leaders who feel threatened by the prospect of girls  learning to read, and their potential to become community leaders.  The role of women in many cultures is limited to water bearing, housekeeping, cooking, child bearing and even slavery. Women and girls are responsible for fetching water in many tribal and rural communities, and the long arduous days they face do not allow them the time or the opportunity to go to school. Remote villages and towns where the main source of family income is hard labor often lack schools, and families lack the resources to pay for academic study. Accessing and paying for an education is often affected by complex physical, cultural and financial barriers. Girls are often forced to marry before they have even reached puberty, and many migrate into prostitution to help feed themselves and their family.
 
"Although the Taliban claims that it acts in the best interests of women, it has cruelly reduced women and girls to poverty, worsened their health, and deprived them of their right to an education..
Since 1998, Girls over the age of eight have been prohibited by the Taliban from attending school. The Taliban jailed and then deported a female foreign aid worker who had promoted home-based work for women and home schools for girls. The Taliban also prohibited women from studying at Kabul University. The Taliban's version of Islam is not supported by the world's Muslims. The Taliban is out of step with the Muslim world and with Islam."

The Taliban’s war against women:  http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/6185.htm

 Michelle Obama has spoken out about the importance of education for girls, and has dedicated her future to the cause.

An investment in girls’ education yields the best return in the developing world; for each additional year of primary school a girl attends, her future earnings increase by 10-20%. And the return is even higher for secondary school – 15-25%. Educating girls doesn’t just benefit families, it helps the economy. When educated women join the workforce, productivity goes up and GDP increases.
(https://worldschildren.org)

 Quoting Unesco.org, these statistics show the benefits of a primary and secondary education in women, worldwide:

“Educated women are less likely to die in childbirth, saving 98,000 lives. In sub-Saharan Africa, if all women completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by 70%, saving almost 50,000 lives. Educating girls can save millions of lives: If all women had a primary education, there would be 15% fewer child deaths. If all women had a secondary education, child deaths would be cut in half, saving 3 million lives. Mothers’ education improves child nutrition. If all women had a primary education, 1.7 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition. If all women had a secondary education, 12 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition Girls with higher levels of education are less likely to have children at an early age 10% fewer girls would become pregnant under 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia if they all had a primary education Almost 60% fewer girls would become pregnant under 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia if they all had a secondary education. Educating girls is a key factor in hastening the demographic transition to lower birth rates. Girls with higher levels of education are less likely to get married at an early age If all girls had a primary education, there would be 14% fewer child marriages If all girls had a secondary education, there would be two-thirds fewer child marriages Education narrows pay gaps between men and women In Pakistan, women with a primary education earn 51% what men earn. With a secondary education, they earn 70% what men earn In Jordan, women with a primary education earn 53% what men earn. With a secondary education, they earn 67% what men earn. Educated women are more likely to find work. In Brazil, only 37% of women with less than primary education are in work. This rises to 50% if they have a primary education”
Statistics taken from http://unesco.org

Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 600 civil society organizations from over 80 countries committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfil their potential. http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-girls-not-brides/
 
The First Lady, Michelle Obama claims that even though she never imagined as a child that she would become the First Lady of the United States, her own struggles to obtain a good education afforded her an eventual significant voice that she can use to benefit others.
“Education opened so many doors and gave me the confidence to pursue my ambitions and have a voice in the world.
For me, education was power.”

 Michelle Obama
Mrs. Obama goes on to say,
“That's why I decided to work on global girls' education as first lady: because right now, there are 
tens of millions of girls like Malala in every corner of the globe who are not in school -- girls who are so bright, hardworking and hungry to learn. And that's really the mission of the Let Girls Learn initiative we launched last year: It's a global effort to give these girls the education they need to fulfill their potential and lift up their families, communities and countries.”

“We know from statistics that educating girls can transform lives, families, communities, and entire countries. When girls are educated, they lead healthier and more productive lives. They gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to break the cycle of poverty and help strengthen their societies. It’s time to Let Girls Learn.”


Let Girls Learn initiative   https://letgirlslearn.gov/

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And now for my own poem, composed after watching the film Girl's Rising.
​I found it a powerful and moving documentary about contemporary young girls who are striving to rise in their own worlds, and become free of the bondages of poverty or cultural shackles, to become educated and self actualized.
It is a moving film that everyone should watch, and all proceeds go towards educational initiatives.

 For Senna, by Susan Golden



Trudging through toxic mud
 that sludges over frozen rock
 jagged with the dark grey mountainside
 burdened with muted pain
She tumbles into mud holes filled with the poorest but bravest hearts
Her father slowly gasping his last breath
midst eighty thousand swarming bodies in the mines
Sweat soaked
for one small fleck of golden glitter
The black heralds of death fold their wings around
and suck him under the mountain
leaving her stranded
Stunned
unable to move
Slowly
she reaches deep down into her own heart

to discover a cache of buried gems        
Pearls of poetic expression
Citrines of courage
Diamonds of determination
Her tongue becomes a sword of tempered words
Sparked by the blow of the pick axe on hard rock
Cutting like finest steel through the railway tracks
to switch the course of life and join the education train
I can do this!
I Will rise, she cries!
 
Child of the dump
Hunting in the rot
Daydreaming of the alphabet
Blooming like a flower without water
in a sea of dry sand
Skipping through life
Holding on to hope
Images in her head
of wonder
what could be
Her future painted with colors
festooning  grey skies
 
Another unlucky girl
bonded to her master
begins to sing
so that others can break loose
the bonds of slavery
Cycling to break the cycle
Turning heads to turn tradition
A new perspective
New angles in a Yang dominated world
Breaking their ride at each domicile
The power of educated persuasion
over blind belief
 
An early morning marriage
Aged 13
Trapped in a blue embroidered cage
Forcibly split by the heavy piston of penetrating dogma
Fearing for her life
yet fueling the force of change
 like a thousand rivers birthing through her womb
turning ugliness into art
darkness into light
fear into will
until that shroud of blue
once masked and muted
begins to break song
like a nightingale for all to hear
a song that pierces the darkest night
and wakens the deepest sleep
I know I can
I know I can rise!
She hears the rhythm of the train
As it gathers momentum
And the roar of the train becomes deafening and irresistible
Education becomes her POWER
The train picks up speed
POWER can change the world.
I will Rise
She will rise
They WILL rise! 
​-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poem written by Womensvoice1

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 Join the Girl Rising community and become a champion for girls’ education. “Use your voice and talent to help us create meaningful change: spread the message, raise funds, and rally your community to advocate for policies supporting girls' education. Now is the time. “
http://girlrising.com/grow-the-movement/index.html#a-call-to-action
 
You may contribute to Girl Rising here :
http://www.katahdin.org/sponsored/10x10/contribute.html
 
​
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Happiness is like a crystal, fair and exquisite and clear. Broken in a million pieces, shattered, scattered far and near. Priscilla Leonard.

10/4/2016

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​Having safely returned to Texas soil, I look back with gratitude on my vacation and having had the opportunity to celebrate my parent’s 90th birthdays.
I have so many wonderful memories, and it went by so quickly, that piecing it all together is like finding small gems, each with their own exquisite significance, to carefully file away and savor in retrospective gratitude.
My parents joy in having us all home, their smiling faces and their loving arms outstretched and welcoming to all who came to celebrate their lives. Meeting children and family whom I had never met before, seeing old friends, and rekindling a love for the historical and beautiful place where I was raised.  
 Indeed England was at her best this September, with a true “Indian Summer” as an advent to autumn. We were there for the Equinox, when the light of the day is equal to the darkness of the night. The skies were blue, and the air was warm. The smell of the sea air was fresh, and the light shimmered on the water, in different shades of sunlit silver.
I had taken a short break from blogging, and have been researching different subjects to illustrate with poems and artwork. But I find myself still in a bit of a slump, having contracted a tinge of bronchitis, and feeling rather unenthusiastic.
So I am going to bring a few poems to you that embody the sentiments that I am feeling, and hope that you will enjoy their message. 
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​Happiness is like a crystal
Fair and exquisite and clear
Broken in a million pieces
Shattered, scattered far and near
Now and then along life’s pathway
 Lo! Some shining fragments fall
But there are so many pieces
No one ever finds them all
 
You may find a bit of beauty
 Or an honest share of wealth
 While another just beside you
 Gathers honor, love or health
Vain to choose or grasp unduly
Broken is the perfect ball
And there are so many pieces
No one ever finds them all
 
Yet the wise as on their journey
Treasure every fragment clear
Fit them as they may together
 Imaging the shattered sphere
Learning ever to be thankful
Though their share of it is small
 For it has so many pieces
 No one ever finds them all

 
 PRISCILLA LEONARD
We began with two christenings, of two of my great nieces, Amelia and Rebecca. They were christened in the Old church of St John that was originally built in about 1150 on the site of another church built around 1050.
The church has a Norman foundation but only the low western tower survives from the Norman period. The chancel and nave were rebuilt in the 15th century.
 My Grandparents, Earnest and Grace Woodfield are buried there.
After the christening we enjoyed communing with our daughters, Charlotte and Vita, who had travelled from Ecuador and San Francisco to join the family fun; and meeting with friends and family for refreshments and the traditional Christening cake, at the local sailing club. 
​My parents were thrilled to begin their 90th year with such a happy occasion, and it was just the introduction to an exciting and event filled week.
Later that week, we journeyed out to Bracken Tor on Dartmoor for the actual party venue, where we spent a weekend of fun and frolics, culminating in a huge party, with wonderful food, self-made entertainment and music; not to mention the ever memorable Merlina, ( Merlin Cousins), singing Jolene, which has become a bit of a family tradition…J
There were babies and children, and husbands and wives, old friends and new friends, and those who were sadly missed. Despite the chaos, Mum and Dad managed to harness their energy, and enjoy the whirlwind fun, leaving them with a huge book of memories, photos, pictures and poems to read and enjoy later when the dust had settled.
I was reunited with several of my dear friends who I have known since childhood, and have cherished my parents as their own. I was reminded that old friends are always my most treasured relationships, and even those who weren’t there became present in my mind and heart.
There is very little division between old friends and family. In fact, old friends can become even more cherished because they do not rest on the still laurels of the family tree. 

​MAKE new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold
 New-made friendships, like new wine
 Age will mellow and refine
 Friendships that have stood the test
 Time and change are surely best
 Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
 Once more we our youth renew.
 But old friends alas may die,
 New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast--
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
 

Joseph Parry

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While we were with my parents, we accompanied them to a dear old friend’s funeral.
I had known Caroline Hemming all my life, and she and her late husband, John Hemming, had been my parent’s bosom friends since college.

We travelled down to Constantine, in the depths of old Cornwall to her funeral in the beautiful old church of Constantine. The funeral was an uplifting tribute to her life, but her passing weighed heavy on my Mother’s heart especially.
I waited with her in the church while Caroline was buried in her simple wicker casket, decorated with Oak leaves and wild flowers, befitting to her character and love of nature.
The terrain of the ancient graveyard was too rough for Mum’s wheel chair.
But my Father returned with the most beautiful story of her committal to the earth.

 The lowering of Caroline’s coffin was serenaded by a Flute and Violin, playing “Speed Bonnie Boat”, one of her favorite duets to sing. As the flute and violin broke into blissful harmony from unison, so then did the birds rise from the surrounding hedgerows, and sang with the instruments, as they took to their wings in flight.
Caroline was an artist, and her most favorite subjects were birds and flowers of the hedgerows. It seemed then as if she were sending a joyful message as her spirit rose.
​

 
THE DAYs grow shorter,
 the nights grow longer;
 The headstones thicken along the way;
And life grows sadder, but love grows stronger
 For those who walk with us day by day
The tear comes quicker, the laugh comes slower;
The courage is lesser to do and dare;
 And the tide of joy in the heart falls lower,
And seldom covers the reefs of care.
 But all true things in the world seem truer
And the better things of earth seem best,
And friends are dearer, as friends are fewer,
And love is all as our sun dips west.
Then let us clasp hands as we walk together
 And let us speak softly in low, sweet tone,
 For no man knows on the morrow whether
 We two pass on or but one alone.


 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
 


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 After the funeral, we had a couple of days left to spend with my parents before leaving. We took our daughters to catch the train to London, and had a day out in Glastonbury for the Autumnal Equinox.
There we climbed the Glastonbury Tor, and reveled in the lush and stately grounds of Glastonbury Abbey.
The Abbey was founded in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was rebuilt in 1184 after being destroyed by a fire. The Abbey was suppressed and partly destroyed by Henry 8th during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the last Abbot was hanged, drawn and quartered on Glastonbury Tor in 1539. The rest of the Monastery was pilfered during the 17th and 18th centuries for the building stone.  
Glastonbury has been associated with the legend of King Arthur, and the medieval monks claimed that Glastonbury was Avalon.
 While in the grounds, I took some lovely photographs, and I was struck by the age of this ancient and magnificent Elm tree. I am sure that could the tree speak, it would tell us many tales from Glastonbury’s colorful past.  
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I THINK that I shall never see

 A poem lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
 Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
 And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
 A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
 Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
 Who intimately lives with rain.
 Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
​

 JOYCE KILMER. ACE
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And with that thought, I shall leave you for now.
I am full, and I am satiated.
I thank you all for dropping by to read my blog, and hope that you will find something worth your while to take away.
Have a lovely week.
 
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    Susan Golden

    Born, raised and educated in Cornwall, England., Sue moved to America in 1981.
    After many years of life experience, her first bookof poetry for social change, is published. Available on iBooks.
     https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-moon-of-compassion/id892598396?mt=11

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