Dear MEPO Friends, Three weeks have passed since the world in Afghanistan turned upside down. Many of you immediately reached out to offer help to those struggling in tumultuous circumstances, and we’d like to keep you posted:
Planting sunflower seeds in May at the Garden of Flowers.
Update on the Afghan Aid situation: We ask our team regularly about the situation of the displaced people and refugees on the streets, and when help can begin, because it is greatly needed. The first set of donated funds, $9000, has arrived at the bank in Kabul, but the banks are only slowly beginning to open and people can withdraw very limited amounts of money. This means there is still not access to all the funds. The delay has been frustrating, but we will do our best to start as soon as possible.
In the meantime, our team of Fahim and Nik Mohammad are already strategizing the best ways to get help into the hands of those who need it. It has, however, become a dangerous task. There are risks of mobs if it is obvious that our team is giving things away. In addition, so many people have come and gone in the city that it is not clear who is who anymore, and our team must be very cautious and keep a low profile. Kabul is currently in an intense state of reconfiguration that makes everything very unclear.
But there are creative ways to help, and the team is carefully watching the city and using this time to determine what to do while also staying safe themselves. And our very experienced partner organization is ready to support this work. They see the need and are eager to be able to help their fellow citizens as soon as possible. Over just the past 3 weeks, we have received over $13,000 from you, our donors, and every cent of this money will go directly to helping many many families in need.
Garden of Flowers Update: As you know, the Garden of Flowers Montessori Preschool has been temporarily closed. Two male staff, Nik Mohammad and Hedayat, have been staying there, keeping watch over the house and its belongings. The other staff have all been staying at home, but all will receive their full salaries, since obviously they have to still provide for their families. We have been in nearly daily contact, and they talk of quiet neighborhoods. While certainly many people in Kabul have had to deal with house searches or Taliban aggression, our staff has not encountered any of that. And as far as the staff knows, the families of the children are also doing ok, staying at home.
Last weekend, all the staff decided to meet at the school to discuss options for next steps. (We were heartened by the fact that the two women teachers felt safe enough to travel across the city by taxi and walking.) At issue for next steps is the fact that since the rules have not been laid down by the Taliban yet, it is not clear if women will be able to work, and if they can, whether women and men can work in the same place. Until these policies are made clear, it is too risky to reopen the school, so it will remain closed for now. It is possible that we will have to find yet another house, and this means another new group of children. But this is the situation we are dealing with. There is no ideal; there is only perseverance.
However, our staff and partners are optimistic, expecting clarifications from the government this coming week, and all are eager to reopen, and get back to the children. And this is why we are so incredibly proud of our staff. They are in it for the long haul, for the sake of the children and families of Afghanistan, and thus the country’s future. These are not glib, cliche phrases. It is reality. These people are truly our heroes, dedicating themselves to working with children while living under circumstances that they never thought they would see again. Knowing that there are children growing up who need to be taught, helped, and enriched no matter what the outer circumstances, these adults carry on the work of peace.
Sunflowers blooming on August 15, the last day the children were at school. This flower reminds us that life goes on. Plants and children continue to grow.
We are, as always, profoundly grateful to you for standing beside them.
Allison and Mostafa and the MEPO Team