6 Months In Kabul: Act

Problog

Hello and welcome to my blog. It is a blog about an Air Force Physician that was reluctantly deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan for 6 months.

I have to admit, I did not exactly volunteer for the deployment, and I was a little anxious about how it would all turn out. I ended up making the best of it, and surprisingly, I actually had a pleasant, life changing, experience.

I decided to keep the blog up and running because I kept on hearing, "Why is it that you only hear the bad news coming from Iraq and Afghanistan." I figured that I was helping spread a positive message about what we are doing over. Even more important, I wanted to continue to spread the word about the plight of the Afghan people, 99.9% of which are the most incredibly friendly people that you will ever meet. The title picture is a great example of that. I have never encountered such genuinely warm and friendly people. It was so strange to see so many people with so little material objects, yet at the same time, filled with so much of the joy that comes with close family ties, abundant friends, and a close knit community. We could definetly learn a lot from them.

You may notice, as you read the blog in its entirety, my arc. I shift from focusing on myself and my personal comforts, to shifting my focus on the Afghan cause. It is very easy to get distracted by the hustle of daily life and the comforts that the U.S. provides. It is really a challenge to awake from that coma and to start to care and think about the welfare of other people unrelated to you. I think it really took me about 4 or 5 months before I really opened my eyes and became personally affected by what I was experiencing. I hope I was able to recreate it.

I have tried to keep the blog squeaky clean so as to not offend anyone (or get me in trouble-I am still in the military). Even though I am a political junky with very strong personal opinions I have been steadfast in keeping this site free of any politics. I was called to do a job and I tried to do it to the best of my ability regardless of my political stance.

I recreated the blog to read more like a book, or should I say blook (get used to the corniness it only gets worse from here) just to make it an easier read. I have removed some names and pictures just to keep it more anonymous. I hope that it helps in making it less about me and more about the cause.

Lastly, in the spirit of the blog, I decided to include the Chipin Widget that I used to raise money for Nazia. If I get any additional money I will send the funds to The Women of Hope Project and someone over in Kabul will discretely give it to her (unless I hear otherwise). You can also contribute directly to the Women of Hope Project website. They are a wonderful cause. If you enjoy this blog then feel free to contribute. I am sure that once you read her story you will be very moved.

So kick back. Get ready to hopefully laugh and definitely cry.
If you like what you read then post a comment. I will be continuously editing this site in an attempt to improve it. Who knows maybe one day it will become a book!

Enjoy. Thanks for reading.

-Shazdoc

Friday, April 25, 2008

Act

"One kernel is felt in a hogshead; one drop of water helps to swell the ocean; a spark of fire help to give light to the world. None are too small, too feeble, too poor to be of service. Think of this and act."

-Hannah More

My favortie 8th grade class from South Carolina actually left a comment on my guest book. They said that they have a way to check my blog out from their class. How exciting. Hey guys, did you get the package that I sent you?

Today's post will be photo heavy. LtCol Johnson and I decided to donate some money to help out a homeless family that sits in the middle of the street everyday. That photo at the top of the blog is the image that haunted me all day yesterday. The mother of that child looks almost like a ghostly figure. She sits on the street under the burqa waving her cane at the passing cars. Meanwhile her two children are always doing the same thing. They are moving their hands to their mouths signaling that they want food from the passing motorists.

It really does not take a lot of money to make a big impact in Afghanistan. A typical physician makes $80.00 per month and lives fairly well. So a $10.00 donation goes very far to feed a family. I also gave them some donated gifts from back home that people did not want. For instance we were sent laundry detergent but we have people who do our laundry for us. I hope the people back home do not mind.

The interpreter was nice enough to go out and buy the supplies and donate them for us. This picture is of the vendor selling him oil and rice.

Here they are receiving the supplies.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please try and give that one kernel of food, that one drop of water, or that one spark of fire to people that are less fortunate then you. If everyone helps out just a little bit then it will end up making a great big impact.

Thanks for reading.