From the very start, the Garden of Flowers Montessori Preschool was meant to serve those destitute families who would never be able to send their children to preschool. For this reason, we do not collect fees. There is a profusion of private, fee-based schools in...

In August, in response to growing levels of children's stress due to the difficulties many families were having at home, the GoF teaching team decided to start holding conferences with the parents of each child. The aim was to connect with the families, to hear how...

The first day of spring brings the New Year to Afghanistan (It is now the year 1403 there!) And this is also the start of the new school year. This means the oldest children are graduating from the Garden of Flowers. It is always bittersweet when children reach the...

This newsletter was sent out on February 5, 2024 via email.  This winter has brought gusts of change to the Garden of Flowers: Razia makes a major life decision, fluctuating currency exchange rates affect the budget, MEPO helps a young artist get a fresh start, and...

One would generally, these days, not associate the word "art" with "Kabul". But the creative urge can sometimes seem to be strengthened in the face of oppression, and Afghanistan has a rich history of great art and sculpture. Even today, in Kabul there is an art...

Razia will be soon be on her way to Canada to start her new life. Everyone misses her terribly and will never forget her smiling face and lilting laugh.  But life in the Garden of Flowers continues apace, and her place is empty! So it is time to find a new teacher....

Generosity One day Fatima told the children stories of sharing. The next day, 6 year old Usra arrived at school early with a bag of clothes - they were her brother's old clothes, and she had brought them to share with her younger classmate Abdul Rahman who didn't have...

The newsletter below was sent on September 21, 2023: The Work of a Lifetime: MEPO Provides Support to Former Children of the House of Flowers Sometimes even work that seems finished has not really ended. MEPO began its Montessori work with children in Kabul over...

The last few weeks have been a heavy flurry of difficult times in the world, with the earthquakes rocking western Afghanistan and the human upheaval in the Middle East. Several of you have asked if all is ok with everyone in Kabul after the earthquake. So this is just...

The month of June was spent in transition: after the decision to leave the Garden of Flowers house where the water well had run dry, the team searched high and low for a good place in a needy neighborhood. After three previous moves, they knew exactly what was needed:...