Afghanistan is nothing if not unpredictable: in March, our landlord kicked out the Garden of Flowers. He wanted to build a tall apartment building in its place. The staff, undeterred, began the hunt for a new house. Every day after work and on weekends they went...

At the House of Flowers from 2002 to 2020, it was always a strong tradition among the staff to have a celebration on International Women's Day with the children. Everyone dressed up, and the room was transformed into a fancy hall. One child served as announcer,...

Two months in... It was just a short two months ago that we wrote to tell you about the new Garden of Flowers Montessori Preschool in Kabul, and already, the Garden of Flowers is truly thriving, with15 children and their loving and dedicated teachers. Each week the...

The Garden of Flowers has been in full-swing for only 2 months, but already we are seeing a beautiful unfolding of the environment as well as the children's work and the teachers' efforts. Below are several videos of the children in different parts of their day, from...

**At this time, the House of Flowers is in a period of transition. Due to the many circumstances arising out of our control since this spring, we have decided to shift from a residential Montessori orphanage to a Montessori dayschool for preschool age children from...

Dear Friends,  In 2003 and 2004, a photographer and friend of the Montessori House of Flowers named Judy Duchesne-Peckham traveled to Kabul to visit and document life in the House of Flowers Orphanage. Her photos captured the lives of the children and told the...

It would be easy to give up on Afghanistan. After so many years of turmoil, it often feels like things are not getting any better. And maybe they're not. The future looming with the Taliban and peace is very unclear, especially what it may mean for the girls and women...

Afghan elections were scheduled to happen this year on September 28. As the whole world knows, elections are always a fraught time in Afghanistan, with an unpredictable security situation.  Then in mid August, the staff of the House discovered that a political...

Summer has come and gone. Despite the ongoing struggles in Afghanistan with security, the House of Flowers has carried with its cheerful family life. And autumn brought a number of new children to the House.  (Click on the photos below to enlarge.) The new children...

We continue our series on the children of the House who are now adults with two successful and strong girls: Razia and her two younger sisters were the first children of the House of Flowers, arriving in 2002. As such, Razia always held a special role as everyone's...