It has been agonizing, knowing what the people of Afghanistan are going through, the struggles perhaps to even survive. Loss of jobs, domestic displacement and upheaval, insecurity, skyrocketing prices – all of these forces are happening at the same time. People, especially the children, need food, shelter, clothing for the coming winter.
Over the recent weeks, our team has been struggling as well to find ways to effectively help those in need without also endangering themselves. The risks have been very high, due to the total uncertainty of the Taliban’s approach. What if our staff were giving away cash, and a Taliban came upon him and asked where he got that money? What if a mob attacked, hearing of things being given away? There were so many possible scenarios. And they were all compounded by the fact that the banks have been restricting cash withdrawals to $200 per person per week for the past 2 months.
However, the need is great and our brave women teachers cannot just stand by. They are starting small, finding people in their neighborhoods who need food or other support, and quietly buying them food, medicine, etc. MEPO’s work has always been small in scale but heart-to-heart, and Fatima and Razia are carrying it on. (This is very brave of them at a time when women have to have a male escort, it seems.) But they are fearless and know that people need the help. The stories of starvation in Afghanistan are circulating, and these women who take care of children all day long know their strength is needed. Gradually, once they have tested the situation and have a better sense of what is possible, we will begin scaling up the help to more people.
Someone once said that teaching is social work, and Fatima and Razia are proving it.