The Women's Press Club of New York State Presents: "Stories From Afghanistan in Words and Pictures"

ALBANY, NY (MARCH 28, 2011) (03/30/2011)(readMedia)-- Internationally known humanitarian Fahima Vorgetts and Albany photojournalist Connie Frisbee Houde will team up to present Stories from Afghanistan in Words and Pictures, spotlighting their recent experiences in Afghanistan at an event sponsored by the Women's Press Club of New York State on Friday, April 1, 5:30 pm-9:00 p.m. at The College of St. Rose Center for Communications and Interactive Media, 996 Madison Avenue, Albany.

Vorgetts, an Afghan-American from Maryland, is director of the Afghan Women's Fund and a board member of Women for Afghan Women, an organization based in Kabul and New York City that is dedicated to securing and protecting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan Women and girls. After fleeing Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, she has dedicated her life's work to improving the conditions of women in her native country.

Vorgetts travels to Afghanistan several times a year to work on programs funded by the Afghan Women's Fund, including schools for girls, literacy classes for women, income-generation projects for widows and arranging for the shipment of medical and school supplies and clothing to refugees. She has addressed the United Nations, appeared on many TV & radio programs, including the BBC & NPR and been featured in articles in the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post.

Houde, a photojournalist, has traveled to Afghanistan beginning in 2003. In 2004 and 2005 she traveled deep into the heart of Afghanistan photographing the National Organization of Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR), the country's singular eye care program. She was a close friend of Delmar Optometrist Tom Little, who was among the ten aid workers shot and killed by militants in northern Afghanistan in August, 2010.

Friday's event will feature a premiere exhibit of a new series of photographs taken during Houde's most recent trips to Afghanistan in October 2009 and August 2010, when she visited various women's organizations.

Vorgetts and Houde will give half-hour presentations at 6:00 pm and again at 7:30 pm. Vorgetts will sell Afghan handcrafts, jewelry, and handmade carpets to benefit WFWA projects in Afghanistan.

DONATION: $5.00 per person; proceeds to benefit the Afghan Women's Fund of Women for Women, Afghanistan. The event is part of Albany First Friday.

The Women's Press Club of New York State is the only statewide membership organization by and for women in the media and communications in New York State. Formed in 1966 by a small group of women journalists committed to supporting women in the communications profession, the organization now includes women and men who work for radio and television stations, newspapers, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies, as well as freelance writers, entrepreneurs and students

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