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 come from a number of backgrounds. There is Tabasum, a 6 year old girl whose mother couldn’t feed her. Small and thin Tabasum has been happy with such good food at the House of Flowers, and has good friends among the children.
Six year old Razia and her 9 year old brother Kamran lost their father in Kabul. Kamran had gone up to 4th grade in school but still didn’t know the alphabet – not uncommon in today’s overcrowded schools in Kabul. Razia is smiley and eager.
Salma is 14, and she and her twin siblings Sahr and Hesan came to the House at the end of October. All are doing well.
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- Tabasum and her friend Satysh
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- Salma
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- little Razia
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- Hesan and Sahr
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- Hamida
Hamida is a shy 10 year old girl from the upper distant corner of Afghanistan. Her story is a difficult one; her father died and her mother is in prison. She struggled at first in the House of Flowers. But when the teachers reached out and asked how to best help her, we at MEPO were able to confer with a child psychologist in the US, who then offered guidance to the teachers. The teachers followed this advice, and also made sure that Hamida was physically healthy, and took her to the dentist since she was having teeth problems. Gradually, after about 2 months Hamida began to settle down and seem calmer and was able to eat more comfortably. Now she is fully integrated into the House and doing much much better.