Today we got to back to Barek Aub, the IDP camp turned settlement between Kabul and Bagram named after its most striking physical feature – fragile (meaning no) water.

 

For several of us on the team it was a wonderful opportunity to renew friendships with many of the residents of Barek Aub since we had been there many times before.  For others it was a first return visit after several years and the changes – many new homes, better roads, new settlements to the north and south – were striking.  For Cody it was a poignant return to the area he had visited while serving in the military almost 10 years ago, when the land now occupied by the village of Barek Aub was completely barren and unoccupied.  And for Jeffri and Caelyn it was their first-ever visit to Afghanistan so for them the entire experience was radically new.

 

As soon as we arrived, the team split up with the ladies heading to conduct a census and the guys joining up with a few of the village elders to assist with some maintenance on the clinic facility. 

 

Gary, Cody, and I set off with the elders to patch cracks and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls of the main meeting room at the Basic Health Clinic.  This is admitedly an ordinary task that the residents of Barek Aub could have done themselves.  But we didn't come to DO things for our highly capable Afghan friends... we came to be WITH them and this gave us a great opportunity to do just that.

 

For me personally, it was particularly gratifying to be filling cracks and slathering paint on walls in which I’d laid a couple bricks with these same incredible men back in 2008.  A couple of the elders commented on how many groups from Flatirons have come back over the years and that they don’t consider us just friends, they consider us family.  What a privilege to be part of a program that remains committed to the long haul.

 

As we guys were helping paint, Jeffri, Courtney, Caelyn, Abbie, and Patty went home-to-home begining the census that would last throughout the summer and be completed by another FCC team this September.  As always, the people were extremely hospitable and kind.  Patty noted that every home offered them tea even though most had to run to a neighbor to borrow it.

 

Many of the questions on the census were what you would expect – how many people live in the home, their ages, skills, hours worked per week, hours available to work, etc.  But there were some questions you would never be asked in the US such as, “How many people have an ulcer or a scar from Leishmaniasis,” a horribly disfiguring, but highly preventable and curable disease common in this part of the world.

 

There were also questions about the number of births and deaths in the home in the last year.  Courtney noted that some of those answering these questions actually had to stop and think to be sure they provided an accurate answer.  Many families offered heartbreaking stories of hardship that couldn't be relayed by answering statistical questions on the survey.

Upon returning to the guesthouse we spent the afternoon debriefing our time spent at Barek Aub and processing all we had been a part of today.  Life in Afghanistan is hard… really hard.  And being here and seeing it first hand makes it all the more real to all of us.

 

But we’re also seeing progress and changed lives, too.  We were bouyed by the story of *Roula, a widow with four children who is the recent recipient of a new home provided by our host organization.  After losing her husband two years ago following a lengthy illness, *Roula was without hope but now believes she has the opportunity to begin a new life.

 

Gary mentioned he had never seen Barek Aub so green before, the result of hundreds of trees being planted over the last couple years.  And Courtney noticed a lot more construction in and around Kabul than last year at this time.  There are more birds in the air, more neighborhood streets are being paved every day, more children are walking to school, and the people just look "shinier" as our host loves to say.

 

One of the reasons we keep coming back is because we DO see progress and lives with increased dignity and hope.

 

You are our partners in everything we do here and we can't thank you enough for your continued prayers and support!

 

--Bob

 

 

 

 

(*not her real name)