Winter Gusts of Change in Kabul : Winter Newsletter

We are committed to highlighting goodness and positivity in a place like Afghanistan, such as in the Garden of Flowers Montessori Preschool (GoF) in Kabul. But a recent conversation with our Afghan partner brought a sobering reminder of the joyless nature of life in Afghanistan today. The indignities are numerous and soul-numbing: Our women staff describe being yelled at on the street for not being covered themselves enough; engaged couples are harassed for riding in a taxi together unmarried; women cannot travel to the hospital without a male ‘chaperone’; women cannot even enter a government building. And the good men, like those who work in the GoF, suffer deeply at powerlessly watching their fellow women citizens treated thus. Fear is paralytic.

It is against this backdrop that the Garden of Flowers stands as a bulwark against the erosion of the human spirit. The Garden of Flowers adults draw upon that joyful spirit within the children and keep it strong by feeding it love and freedom, and along the way they feed it within themselves as well. This is why this work must continue. The thirty children in the Garden of Flowers are truly the seeds of the spirit for the future, through the power of interconnection and collaboration.

Embracing the GoF is the global network of people who give and give, those of you who have kept the hope going for over 20 years. We express to you all our deepest gratitude, especially for the burst of generosity at the end of 2023 which gave us a boost into 2024 as we prepare to navigate a series of significant changes at the GoF.

We continue to need such support. We encourage you to share about MEPO and the GoF with others who might also wish to help, so we can expand the network of interconnection. Together is the only way forward.

One Family… The GoF serves as a hub for supporting others who need extra help. The staff administer MEPO’s Food Aid project, providing extra salary and food assistance to Zaki’s, Obaid’s and Nadia’s struggling families and others, for the past two years and ongoing.

One Girl... Recently this support extended to the artistic realm as well. Read the story of how MEPO helped a teenage Afghan artist regain her zest for life through art after her family’s forced return to Kabul from Pakistan.

One Child at a Time… Through activities such as feeding the cats, dramatizing a poem, and sharing clothes, 
each child in the Garden of Flowers Montessori environment discovers that a healthy life is interconnected.

Although such efforts may seem small in the face of the great need, every single person matters. 
For these stories and pictures, please check out our recent posts on our website.

The GoF team is frugal and attentive to expenses as we work to establish a budget that meets the needs of the children and the staff. We are committed to paying the staff healthy salaries and feeding the children healthy meals in the course of offering a very strong Montessori education program.

In the past few years, total annual expenses have averaged about $35,000, which includes the extra salary and food support that MEPO provides for several struggling young adults outside of the GoF. 

Unfortunately, in the past six months the US dollar has weakened in Afghanistan by about 30%. This has put a squeeze on the budget, resulting in an effective drop in salaries and requiring a freeze on additional expenses and planned salary increases.

Right now we have sufficient funds for the next 6 months. Our goal is to raise enough funds, about $20,000, to cover the remainder of the year AND be able to offer salary increases.

You may remember the story of Razia and her two sisters, the first children to join the House of Flowers Montessori Orphanage 22 years ago, the first “Montessori kids” of Kabul. All three attended university and made their way in the world: Shukria is now living in Iran with her husband and three children. Nadia is married and living in Kabul, working at a clinic.

And Razia, the oldest, became a teacher at the Garden of Flowers. With her gentle nature, creative mind, and intuitive understanding of children and Montessori principles, she became an outstanding and beloved Montessori teacher.

It was thus quite bittersweet when Razia told us last month that she and her husband had been accepted for emigration to Canada. It is very difficult to even imagine the GoF without her, and yet we are happy for her opportunity.

We cannot forget what she expressed quietly after the Taliban returned in 2021: “There is no future here.” She deserves a future, a life where she can flourish. She has given much of herself to Afghanistan and its children. Her hope is that, once settled in Canada, she will be able to continue her work as a Montessorian. We certainly hope so too.

In the meantime, click here to learn about what it’s like to hire a new teacher in Kabul these days as the team searches for Razia’s replacement – big shoes to fill indeed.