Beginning the move from aid to development.
For a new community like Barek Aub to survive and thrive on its own, it is critical to ramp up long term development as soon as basic life saving needs have been met. Our development partner believes Barek Aub is at that phase of its development and today held its first Vision Meeting, the outcome of which will help establish a loan program that will provide startup capital for locally owned businesses.
The home of elder Abdul Qahar was jammed with the Flatirons Team, the village elders, and more than 25 others chosen by the elders to represent small business interests in the community. This was the group tasked with laying the groundwork for long-term future of Barek Aub. We were privileged to play an important role in this historic meeting.
After opening remarks by Mullah Majinoon and our development partner's assistant director, and brief introductions by everyone in attendance, it was time for Hajji Haider to present a historical perspective on the success of small business in Istalif, another community in which our partner successfully launched a similar program in 2002.
Unfortunately Hajji Haider’s car broke down en route, so I was asked to open the meeting by sharing my story about launching a successful business in the United States.
After a couple deep breaths, I told how I had worked for other people my entire life and finally in 2001 I pursued my dream of opening my own business. With our host translating, I shared how I believed honesty and hard work are the keys to success and that after eight years my business provides income for 5 families, serves the needs of many hundreds of families in my community, and even provides me the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan to help others.
I then invited Margaret from our Team to share her experiences with developmental programs in Thailand—one which succeeded (vegetable farming and sales) and one which failed (raising chickens). Margaret did a great job of explaining each example which occurred in circumstances not unlike those in Barek Aub.
Padi Gul, a woman in the group, then told how her husband had been imprisoned by the Taliban and she and her two sons fled to Pakistan. There they opened a metal working business and earned enough to pay for their home, enough food to eat, and gave them the ability to move back to Afghanistan.
One by one different people in the group began sharing success stories from their prior lives… one who spent $50 on cans of Pepsi, then sold them to laborers in hot weather and eventually made $800… a woman who fled to Pakistan with 200 Rupies to her name, purchased tailoring materials, and made enough to allow her to return to Afghanistan… even Qahar himself told of how, as an officer in the Afghan Army, he was forced to flee to Pakistan when the Taliban took over and began transporting market goods and selling fruit eventually making enough to return to Afghanistan… and there were several more.
By this time Hajji Haider had arrived and he then gave a beautiful account of life in Istalef before, during, and after the Taliban. He spent particular time describing the work that our partner has done there in the last seven years and passed on high praise for Dr. Latifa who trained all the Community Health Workers in Istalef and is now doing the same in Barek Aub. He explained that Istalef is a thriving community today because of the cooperation and trust between the community and the teams of workers at our development partner and told how that same success is possible for Barek Aub.
We then broke for tea and moved the meeting outside. When we resumed, elders Abdul Baqi and Abdul Qahar led the elders and other business hopefuls in the task of creating a map of Barek Aub showing all distinguishing landmarks including the anticipated “business district” and the locations of residents with specific business skills and expertise.
This was followed by an opportunity for anyone in the group to suggest a business they would like to start and they came rolling in: tailoring, quilting, transportation, carpet weaving, a naan bakery, grocery, general store, brick making, trucking those bricks and other building materials, auto repair and general service, shoe maker, carpentry, metal working, poultry and 4-legged animals for renewable and more “sacrificial” types of food products, and on and on and on. This group was not short on ideas.
Our host wrapped up and summarized the meeting encouraging the elders and other members of the business committee to participate in the 8-week Microenterprise Training Course our partner would be beginning in Barek Aub very soon. It is during that course that the actual businesses will be selected to receive loans to get off the ground. Every one of the Team expressed what a privilege it is to be part of the birth of these businesses.
It was time to head back to the guest house, but as we were leaving we noticed a bright blue wind turbine had been installed next to the clinic! It’s a 3KW turbine that will be used to run the pump on the nearest well to the clinic as well as lights and lab equipment in the clinic itself. If it proves successful, additional units will be purchased and installed at the school and elsewhere throughout the village.
After lunch we decided to hold our own private worship service at the guest house and we enjoyed a great time of bad singing to David Crowder, Tim Hughes, and The Robby Sea Band (thank you Jordan and Nicole for putting together our laptop songbook!) and sharing the many blessings we’ve each received so far during our time in Afghanistan. It’s funny… we’ll sometimes joke about how we hate it when church runs overtime (except for Nicole and Toby of course) and cuts into our tee times, etc., but after 2 solid hours none of us wanted to stop celebrating and only quit because we knew Naime had dinner ready and we didn’t want to offend him.
After dinner we were visited by Mary Doleman, who runs a school for the hearing impaired in Kabul. Unfortunately the story of Mary’s visit will have to wait for another time due to space constraints (and the fact that the only people who can tell it are sound asleep).
The entire team wanted me to send our heartfelt thanks for your faithful support and continued prayer for us during our remaining time here. So... thank you!!
--Bob
It was an incredible honor to be invited to sit among the elders during
the first ever Business Vision Meeting in Barek Aub this morning.
The second half of the meeting was held in the courtyard of elder Abdul Qahar’s home.
Wind power comes to Barek Aub! (OK… who let Toby have more caffeine??)
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