10 Mud Bricks

The photo under the title is courtesy of Women of Hope Project. I included their newsletter in this post. It is kind of long but well worth the read. I encourage you to print it out and read it in your free time. If you do not have much time then skip over my stuff and just read her newsletter. They are doing some amazing work.

"Estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M&Ms: 250."

-Harper's Index, October 1989

Last night I attended a comedy show at the Clam Shell. I am not sure if I was just desperate for a good laugh but it was the funniest comedy show that I have ever attended. I literally laughed out loud for about an hour. It was great. It is so nice that entertainers go out of their way to come to Afghanistan to visit and entertain us. My friends that just came back from Herat told me that Fez from That 70s Show visited them over there.

This morning we taught the ER doc how to use the EKG machine and we also did some more teaching on interpreting EKGs. I felt really bad because when I went upstairs to sit down with the OB/GYN doctor she had a nice plate of nuts and warm chai waiting for me but I had to run and pick up our friends at the airport (KAIA). They had just come in from delivering vaccines and scoping out sites for some new clinics.

After we picked up our friends we at lunch at KAIA. Here is the dinning facility.

After we finished eating I saw this really cute cat. I thought that I would take a picture of it.









They had a lot of really neat shops at the airport. Here are some of the pics. These blue stones are called Lapis lazuli. They are only found in Afghanistan.
I am not sure why anyone would want to buy a stuffed goat head but here one is if you are interested.









Some of the shops have some really nice stuff like this one shown below.










A beauty salon. You can fight in a war and get your nails done all in the same day.

They sell Cuban cigars. Their warning label does not leave a lot of room for ambiguity.

After we got back I had 2 packages and 3 letters waiting for me. A really nice ePal of mine from Surprise, Arizona sent me a ton of hand crafted Christmas cards. She must have sent 500 of them. Each one of the cards had such attention to detail. Everyone in my group loved them. She also sent a box full of cookies, drink mix, and playing cards. She also included about 20 heart charms that were all unique and made from really neat stone or painted with a psychedelic design.

Later that night I participated in a volunteer community relations (VCR) sorting. There probably was 30 people out there all sorting different donations from the U.S.. Cloths, toys, school supplies, candy. It was really fun and I met a lot of new people doing it. The warehouse where they keep the supplies is located inside an old swimming pool. Remember, Camp Eggers used to be a neighborhood and all of the pools were covered over with connex boxes. Here is a view from inside the empty pool. Next week we will be planting apple trees as a communty service project. In a few weeks we will be donating coal to 50 needy families.

Betsy from Women of Hope Project sent me their newsletter. I thought that it held such important information that I decided to post it in its entirety on my blog. It is really a shame that I was not able to include all of the pictures. Let me know if you would like me to send you the entire newsletter with the pictures.
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For those of you that were looking for a good charity to donate to, this is the one. Betsy is the real deal. She has risked her life everyday for the past 5 years to be over here in Afghnaistan to help women in need. She is doing really amazing wook.

TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS OF THE WOMEN OF HOPE PROJECT:
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GREETINGS FROM AFGHANISTAN!

The past six months have been a very challenging and exciting time for the Women of Hope Project. It is important to me to keep you updated on our activities, so I beg your pardon in the lengthy time since our last newsletter. With just a staff of three on the ground here in Afghanistan, every day is filled to the brim with work to do. All I can say in my defense is that most of the time, when my days are done, I am too tired to write even my own name! There is a lot to tell, so sit down, make a cup of coffee, and let me spend some time with you, and share with you all that your support has made possible in the lives of the Afghan people this year.
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BEN-E-WASAK REFUGEE SCHOOL
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Six months ago I wrote to tell you that the children in the refugee camp we have been working with for the last three years asked me if we could give them a school. At the time, I knew we had no resources to fulfill such a request, but the pleading looks of the children begging caused me to step out in faith to somehow find a way to fulfill their wish.
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The response from our supporters has been overwhelming. You provided the salaries for two teachers for one year. Some have donated and sent school supplies and clothing. Some have given money, which has provided us with the funds to purchase the tent and furnishings for the teachers, such as desks, filing cabinets, blackboards, dry erase boards, chairs and plastic carpets for the school floor. This has truly been a testimony to “What God orders, He pays for!”
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These refugee families have been moved to permanent land by the Afghan government, and they have all been working hard to build a brand new community from scratch. Literally. This new community has since been named Ben-e-Wasak. It is located about 90 minutes outside of Kabul City, behind a mountain currently used as a shooting range for the Bagram Air Force Base. At present, there are 293 families with homes, and the Afghan government plans to move another 160 families there before the end of the year.
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Although the children wanted the school desperately, the conservative elders of the village had reservations about allowing girls to attend school. We agreed that the security situation was becoming increasingly unstable. The possibility of a new outbreak of war or the Taliban returning to power looms constantly in all of our minds. I shared with them my experience of coming to Afghanistan in 2002 and finding a country full of desperate and hopeless women. Women who had been denied an education under the Taliban rule; women who had no way to make a living to support their families; women who were used to having a husband, son or father to take care of them, all of whom had died during the wars. Respectable women had been reduced to beggars. I asked these elders what would happen to their wives and daughters today if war broke out again, and they were killed. Did they have a plan which would enable their families to survive? At that point, after much discussion, all of the village elders agreed that the girls should be educated.
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The remote location of the village and non-existent road conditions have made it difficult for us to find qualified teachers willing to travel the distance to get there. Last week, we received a call from the village elders that two teachers had agreed to come, and we quickly went to meet them. The teachers’ names are Noor Agha and Mustafa. They are brothers, and both are Certified Teachers. Mustafa told us, “When I heard that an American woman was willing to come here, with no benefits, to help these children have a school, I was ashamed, so I decided to come to be their teacher.” They are willing to travel 40 km everyday to teach these children. The teachers agreed to register the community’s children.
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In the first week, 200 children registered, including 130 boys and 70 girls. We advised that the tuition for the school for each child would be 10 mud bricks, one of which had to have their handprint on it. It is my desire to use these bricks to have the children build the foundation for a real “bricks and mortar school” one day. While meeting with the teachers and village elders, a young boy, about age 12, and his sister, age 10, came in to sit with the adults and listen. When he heard the suggestion about the bricks, he interrupted the conversation to announce, “I am going to make 500 bricks!” Then, his sister joined in by announcing that she was going to make 100 bricks! The little boy told us he had gone to school in Pakistan until third grade, but it had been so long, he has forgotten everything. His sister, like most of September 6, 2007Page 3the children in this community, has never been to school and can only dream about what it will be like to learn.
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This past Thursday, one week after this meeting, we returned to Ben-e-Wasak, with school supplies and furniture and teaching supplies for the teachers. The children could hardly contain their excitement and pride as they pulled me along by the hand to show me what they had done. I was shocked and thrilled to see the tent had been raised and a foundation of mud bricks made by the children had already been laid to secure the tent. I was overwhelmed! I am confident that this wall will become part of the foundation of their future school!
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Within minutes, as I looked out the tent flaps, all I could see were children running towards us, at full speed, from every direction! I expected to be mobbed, but when they got to the tent, they entered with a quiet reverence, and naturally organized themselves to sit and prepare for the school supply distribution. I have been working with these children for a long time, and I have NEVER seen them so cooperative and well-behaved. Many of them were students in our hydroponic micro-gardening class, two years ago, while they were still in the refugee camp.
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As the children settled in, I asked them, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most of them said “Teachers”. Some wanted to be doctors. A couple of them wanted to be engineers. One of the boys said he wanted to be village leader! Perhaps the Wakil [of this village], the village leader, will be willing to mentor him! We asked the children if one of them would like to lead us in prayer to thank God for all of His blessings and for this school and the hand of one little boy, about 8 years old, flew up. The sight of all of these children with their hands raised to God in thanksgiving brought tears to my eyes. Again, I was asked by the village elders to offer up a prayer of my own, in blessing for the school. The joy on the faces of the children was something that I will never forget! I just wish all of you who have helped to make this dream of theirs a reality could have been there to see it.
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The teachers, elders and some of the parents assisted with the distribution of 200 packets of notebooks and pencils. The teacher conducted his first role call and called each one by name. Several of the children that are still too young to go to school cried. That was heartbreaking, but gratifying at the same time, to know that they WILL have a school to go to when they come of age.
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To view the entire album of pictures from the school supply distribution, you may go to: http://pictures.aol.com/ap/viewShare.do?shareInfo=qehO4z9cYll9sAidV33r7ZxcNsCvhBKwwEK62qIkk7ZWGd%2bBXiXp6w%3d%3d
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This distribution was only for the initial 200 children who were already registered. There are still 200 more children in the village who want to register. After the distribution was over, one of the Afghan fathers started to argue with the elders, insisting that they allow his DAUGHTER to register! This is truly a miracle, as this is a very conservative Afghan village and a year ago, none of these men would have considered allowing ANY of their daughters to attend school! The elders explained to him that we would continue to register the other 200 children within the next few weeks; however, we would have to find more teachers and more tents to accommodate all of them. By next spring, with the additional 160 families being moved to this community by the government, we are estimating an additional 400 school age children.
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Still, I was disappointed that I did not see the face of one particular 14 year old girl, who was in my gardening class, registering for school. I was told by the elders that she was too old because she was engaged to be married. Cultural changes come slowly…step by step. WOHP has always worked with families steeped in poverty. We try to help them identify cultural practices that keep them from prospering and ways to break those cycles.
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In order to ensure that all of the children of this community are given an equal opportunity to attend school, we need more tents and teachers. A teacher’s salary in Afghanistan is only $60 per month. That is not a living wage. Fuel costs are very high here. Due to the distance any teacher would have to travel, WOHP had agreed to pay $100 a month per teacher for one year, to cover the expense of fuel for traveling to the camp. This salary is still not enough for a teacher to support his family, and we still need 12 more teachers to support the entire school-age population, based on a maximum of 60 students per teacher. The two teachers we have now will divide the 200 students up for partial school days, until more can be located, supported and hired.
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We also need 8 more tents. Each tent costs about $400. These tents are not the quality that can survive the harsh winters and intense summer sun for more than a year or two. We are seeking donations from the various military organizations here to provide more permanent tent structures. Ultimately, we will have to consider a real bricks and mortar school but…who knows…maybe we can get the children to build it themselves!
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How can you help?

• Sponsor a teacher. Either through monthly donations of $100 a month or a one-time $1200 cash donation, you can provide the salary of a teacher for this community for one year.

• Each $400 donation will purchase one additional tent, which will be the school room for the children until, with a lot of prayer; a real school can be built.

• Additional school supplies still needed are learning aids, posters, crayons, pencil sharpeners, book bags, clothing, shoes, coats, hats, gloves and toiletries, such as soap, shampoo, combs, brushes and beanie babies! We separate the donated clothing into pink and blue bags, by appropriate sizes. We try to give each child two sets of clothing, underwear, socks, shoes and a coat. Most of the children have never owned a toy, so we would like to put a small toy, such as a beanie baby, in each bag. We like to give them all the same thing, so that no friction or jealousy among the children is created.

• Your general financial support is always appreciated. WOHP is funded strictly through the donations of individuals, churches and civic organizations. We depend on your regular monthly donations to support our capacity to continue to this work.
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WOMEN’S VOCATIONAL CENTER
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One of my first dreams I had when deciding to come to Afghanistan was to open a Women’s Vocational Center, where Afghan women could take off their burqas and have an opportunity to be whatever they wanted to be. Finally, after five years of many disappointments, frustrations and preparation, WOHP has finally realized that dream! One month ago we rented a ‘pink’ building, for a rental rate we could afford, and have now opened that Center. The building is being dedicated in the memory of our dear friend, Wanda Spiker of Virginia Beach, Virginia, who went to be with the Lord in December 2006, after fighting a valiant battle with cancer. She was a tireless volunteer for WOHP, actively worked on our Advisory committee, and was a dear friend to us all. She has been greatly missed by all, but has left behind a legacy worthy of her dedication.
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Our Center has 3 large classrooms, a prayer and meditation room, an office, a receiving room, a small kitchen, a small in-house store and a greenhouse, which we moved from the Ministry of Agriculture, and a small yard which we hope to get into shape by next spring. We have hired 2 guards, an assistant, and a woman to cook and clean. To date, 70 Afghan women come to learn Embroidery and Textile Design, Literacy, and Hydroponic Gardening. They have asked for English classes, however we do not yet have the funds to pay an English teacher’s salary. The women are so excited to have a place to call their own, and their creative juices are flowing! We hope the future will provide us the opportunity to offer these women any classes they would like to take.
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EMBROIDERY PROJECT…
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It is important to remember that in the recent past, due to cultural restraints, 90% of our ladies are uneducated. They have not been encouraged to think either independently or creatively. Therefore, most of our teaching involves inspiring them to look at the value of their own ideas and to honor the ideas of their peers. To this end, we are making great strides. Our ladies are producing exquisite hand-embroidered tablecloths, table runners, placemats and napkins, clothing, purses, computer bags, Christmas items, kilm carpets, dolls, wall hangings, decorative pillow covers and many, many more items. Each woman has her own account, and each item is inventoried with her assigned number.
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Every week we sell these goods at Camp Eggers Military Base and the ISAF Base in Kabul. The women are paid each week for the items they sold. A year ago, most of them could not afford to send their children to school. Their small sons supported their families as shoe shine boys, selling newspapers on the street, pushing wheelbarrows in the bazaar or begging. Now most of their children go to school. The women are able to support their families and pay their own medical bills. They all are building their own networks from within their own neighborhoods to help them keep up with the demand.
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The quality of their work has brought them much recognition in the past few months. The International Embroiderers Guild featured our ladies’ embroidered goods at their annual meeting in San Antonio, TX. They made tablecloths and custom buffet covers to grace the table of the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr. William Wood, for official functions. Those of you in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area may take time to visit Original Artworks and Gifts at 3115 Western Branch Blvd. in Chesapeake, VA. This store is full of indigenous crafts and carries products made by our ladies. Elizabeth Lawson is the owner, and she has been a great source of support and encouragement to us.
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THANKS ALSO TO…….
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U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Brenda Steele has been staunch supporter of ours, and has contributed her financial support and professional expertise to assist us for the last 15 months. She has been our link to so many people who have stepped forward to help us we cannot list them all. In particular, Brenda is a member of the Daybreak Rotary Club in Cocoa Beach, FL. Through her introductions, they have adopted the Women of Hope Project and the club is selling the women’s goods to help support them and to raise funds.
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Members of the Army Corp of Engineers, including Bruce Pastorini who organized three Catholic Churches in Jacksonville, FL to send a generous supply of clothing and shoes, and Kristine Stoehner, who organized a city-wide drive to collect school supplies through her church and her community, have stepped forward to provide assistance. A soldier’s wife in the United Kingdom is sponsoring a Walk-a-Thon to raise funds where our products will also be sold. We are just now venturing onto the bureaucratic highway to discover how to export these goods in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Postage here is very expensive. Next week I will attend a class by Aid to Artisans to expand our marketing and exporting expertise.
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There are so many more friends to thank, we cannot possibility list them all. Women of Hope Project sincerely thanks each and every one of you who are working so hard to help us continue to expand our work here and to achieve our goals. I am truly humbled by all of the friends around the world, especially those whom we have never met, who have come together with unified hearts to donate their time, money and personal sacrifices to “be the backs that these women and children stand on to rise above the ashes of their broken lives!”
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FUTURE GOALS…
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Women of Hope Project has been invited several times to address the Anti-Insurgency Training school called the COIN Academy for the U.S. military, the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). There truly is an effort here among the locals to understand what causes insurgency and to prevent it from increasing in their country. As we share our work with the poor, we are able to share some of the conditions among them that make them prey to insurgency As well as some of their hopes and fears.
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A shift in focus is necessary here; the men of Afghanistan must also be supported in obtaining the skills and training necessary to support their families and to become self-sufficient. This is still a patriarchal society. Poor young men, desperate to support their families, are being recruited as suicide bombers. With no education or skills, they are living in a state of hopelessness and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in exchange for money to help their families survive.
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In Ben-e-Wasak, out of 293 families, there is only one carpenter, one mason, and two vehicles. There are no stores or services. These people must share the two vehicles to drive for miles to obtain goods and food for the entire village. A few of the men have jobs which require them to travel long distances and to be away from their families for weeks on end. During the post-war times, most of these men were farmers. Multiple wars caused them to become refugees. Ample farm land is not included in the planning of these new communities. At this time, this community is surviving strictly on charitable distributions of food.
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Our first goal is to offer $500 small business start-up packages, which will provide a couple of grocery stores, a propane shop, a bread bakery, a tailor, a dry goods and textile shop, and a tool and building supply shop with the initial stock of supplies to sell and have available to meet the community’s needs. Each shopkeeper will be chosen by lottery and must agree to contribute 10% ($50) of their earnings toward setting up the next shop. The Afghan government plans to move a total of 42,000 refugee families into this area to provide them with permanent land. For less than the cost of one food distribution, we can provide the entire community with economic stability and jobs, and means to earn money to buy food and other necessities on a regular basis. -
Our second goal is to obtain enough funding to support vocational skills training for the men of the community to teach them such valuable skills as carpentry, masonry and well-digging. As the UN and other organizations assist these refugees in creating their new communities, the organizations would then have a pool of skilled men to employ to do the work.September 6, 2007Page 9You can help make a difference in the sustained peace and stability of this community in the following ways:
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• Become a Community Development Sponsor with a donation of $500 toward the start-up costs of a community business.
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• Share your time and skills as a short-term volunteer to teach a vocational skill to the men of this community. Your financial support will enable us to obtain training materials and tools and/or to pay a qualified trainer. Each vocational training program will cost approximately $5000 to implement.
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GARDENS OF HOPE
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Last but not least, I want to bring you up-to-date on our Gardens of Hope Sponsorship program. Many of our current sponsored families have been moved into the Ben-e-Wasak community. Each family paid the government $90 for a small plot of land. They were not provided any wells, shelter (tents or homes) or other services, such as bazaars or markets. Since that time, this community has been in need of emergency relief, and donors have come forward to provide wells and materials for housing. During this time, WOHP has placed our Gardens of Hope Program on hold. We will resume garden sponsorship in the spring of 2008, as many of the families will be stabilized by then.
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However, a story worth mentioning concerns two of our gardening students, Latifa and her mother, Bebe Hawa, women we wrote about earlier during our micro-gardening training program at the Riasat-e-Pinj refugee camp. Latifa and her mother are now blessed with their own home in the Ben-e-Wasak community. During a visit, while Latifa’s mud house was still under construction, she proudly pointed to the wet walls near to ceiling to show me that she had planted seeds in the wall, which were now growing! Last week I visited her again, and she took me outside to show me her garden in her small yard. Although it is not a soil-less garden, she told me, “You showed me how to plant this. I learned how to feed my family from the Women of Hope.” It warmed my heart to know that this training has made a difference in at least one family forever!
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As you can see, WOHP has had a very busy but fruitful year. All of this has been made possible by YOU! Thank you, and remember your continued support will grant us an opportunity to help even more of these people! God bless each and every one of you!
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Betsy Beamon, DirectorWomen of Hope ProjectKabul, Afghanistanhttp://www.womenofhopeproject,org/jaydasnan1@aol.com
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HOW CAN I HELP?

WOHP is funded solely by private donations from faithful supporters like you. Your generosity will make a huge difference in the lives of many poor people in Afghanistan. May God bless you for enabling Women of Hope Project to continue providing the means to help these Afghan women and their families help themselves.
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All contributions, except for product sales, are tax-deductible in accordance with our 501 (c) 3 status. Please make all checks out to WOHP and mail to WOHP, 4876-118 Princess Anne Road #203, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Email us at info@womenofhopeproject.org.
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Please consider how you can help give these families hope and a future. The smallest amount can give an Afghan woman and her family a new start in life. There are many ways to help:

_____ I will help support the Women of Hope Project by giving a tax-deductible monthly donation in the amount of $_______ for a total of $_________ yearly. Enclosed is my first check.

_____ I will help support the Women of Hope Project with a tax-deductible donation. Enclosed is my check in the amount of $_________.

_____ I would like to sponsor a teacher for $1200 for the year.____ Enclosed is my check for $1200.____ I will give $100 each month for 12 months. Enclosed is my first check.

_____ I would like to donate a tent for a school room. Enclosed is my check for $400.

_____ I would like to sponsor a start-up business. Enclosed is my check for $500.

_____ I would like to contribute $______ for the Women’s Vocational Center.

_____ I would like to contribute $______ for ___________________________

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I am interested in selling/purchasing Afghan merchandise. Please contact me with more information.
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YOU CAN ALSO MAKE YOUR DONATIONS ON-LINE THROUGH PAYPAL.

Please go to http://www.paypal.com/, and send funds to donations@womenofhopeproject.org.
Name:_______________________________________
Email:____________________________
Address:___________________________
City/State ZipPhone: Home_____________________
Work__________________
Cell____________________

Thank you for your donation.

Please make all checks out to WOHP and mail to 4876-118 Princess Anne Road #203, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. E-mail: info@womenofhopeproject.org.
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Thanks for reading.