Provide Care for Afghanistan's Abandoned Children

Greetings friends!

We are now coming out of winter in Baharak Afghanistan and we are starting to prepare the soil for replanting next month. We currently have 20 orphaned children who are supported by our program and 40 other children from very poor families.

We are more excied than we have ever been about this project because we have found several ways to make the Baharak Children's Garden (BCG) and Foster Child Network SELF SUSTAINING in five years.

1. The fruit trees we planted three years ago will bear fruit for the first time this season. This will enhance the diet of the children we support, their families and, perhaps most important of all, their foster families.We are about to invest in the planting of several hundred more trees this year in order to have a bumper crop in three years -- enough fruit to sell at market so that the BCG can become self sustaining.

2. A boom of the local economy has brought about demand for ornamental row tress that we are also growing at our farm. The sales of these trees will also create a financial surplus that will make the BCG self sustaining.

3. Finally,we plan to purchase a hundred more chicks this year due to the success of our chicken egg farm. Chickens are not an easy animal to raise because they are susceptible to disease and chick mortality is high. We started two years ago and we have learned a great deal along the way. The sale of chickens at the local market will further enhance this program's self sustainability.

NEW FOR 2015: We are hiring a wonderful woman who lost her children to the war and is coming to cook for the 20 orphaned children supported by the Baharak Children's Garden. This "garden lunch" program will soon be the talk of the entire region.

As it stands, the particpants of our program arrive hungry and they leave hungrier -- but with big bags of produce and eggs that they can then eat with their famileis and foster families.

We have always felt the need to feed our children on site but until now we didn't have the means to make it happen. Thanks to recent Global Giving donations, we can now feed our children at the farm!

Thank you for your help!

Please see the attached report that details our plan for 2015.

What follows is a recap of 2014. We hope you will choose to support this program and that you will also tell all of your friends about it!

2014 Recap

The Baharak Children's Garden (BCG) is a not-for-profit project established in April of 2012. It is funded solely by Global Roots and currently supports 60 children (including 20 orphans). This project mainly focuses on children who have lost their parents during Taliban, Al-Qaida and drone attacks. The Baharak Children's Garden has grown well during the past three years and is expanding its activities each year in order to serve and take care of more and more children. The BCG provides multiple levels of support to orphaned children including basic nutrition and education. The children raise vegetables, chickens and they plant/maintain fruit trees during their time spent at the garden. In turn, the produce and eggs help them to find a foster home where they receive winter support, school supplies, healthcare services and emotional support. In the long run, production from our fruit trees will make this program 100% sustainable

Through hands-on practical training, the program teaches children how to plant and grow vegetables and raise chicken eggs. This is done in a supportive and fun environment that respects the abilities of each child. It is our paramount goal to give each child a sense of self and the ability to stand on their own in the future.

In 2014, the BCG provided 13,140 bags of different types of vegetables to 20 orphans. Each child received 657 bags for a total value of $657 (based on local market prices). This is considered an income for each child registered in BCG. This puts a value on a child and actually attracts a home for them.   

Job creation BCG has provided jobs for two men who work as a manager and security guard for seven months and receive a monthly salary.

Tree Farm In addition to growing vegetables, BCG has established a farm of fruit trees in order to provide more funding resources in the long run and continuation of BCG programs. Currently there are more than 1,000 trees on this farm which will be ready to distribute to the children this year. Each tree will have a value of 2-6 USD per child. This is considered a resource for BCG selfreliance and sustainability. BCG plans to expand this farm annually to increase its products. This farm will help BCG distribute trees to children to plant at their houses, schools, parks, hospitals and elsewhere to make their living environment safe, green and abundant.

Chicken farmBCG has established a chicken farm inside the garden to educate children on how to keep chicks while receiving the benefits of what they produce (eggs). The students receive eggs and vegetables every week. According to the interviews some of the children cook and eat the eggs themselves while others sell their eggs to neighbors in order to purchase items that they need urgently.  

Providing nutrition BCG has been providing nutritional support for the children through the distribution of more than twelve types of vegetables, eggs, fruits and food. Our vegetables provide the sole vitamins that these children absorb.

Providing daily physical activities for children Children at BCG are given the chance to exercise for at least one hour three days per week. The exercise and time spent in the sun in a green environment is helping participants to have a have sound mind and body. 

Removing ignoranceChildren are mostly ignored in undeveloped countries like Afghanistan and this can lead to the child facing different types of mental diseases. In the BCG the participants are given a great deal of attention and they each learn a sense of self and what it means to be self reliant.

Filling the parental gap for our orphaned children Orphaned children experience an emotional gap when they see other children with parents who take care of them. In the BCG we try to fill his gap and never give our orphaned children the chance to feel that they are alone and have no one to take care of them. Through our services and basic lessons we help orphaned children forget the absence of their parents and think positively about the power of their own future.

Providing entertainment for children The children spend two hours three days a week in BCG. They spend one hour working with the vegetable, chicken and tree farms and one more hour playing with each other. This helps them practice different games with their partners and team members. The BCG helps children recognize their abilities through action

BCG was reinitiated on April 1^st in 2014 and it was served children until Oct 30 2014. The total actual operating cost for seven months from April-Oct was $8,860.

Conclusion:  

In 2014 BCG has provided nutrition, social-economic, entertainment and agricultural activity services to 60 children (including 20 orphans) for seven months starting in April and ending on October 30. The total actual cost of this project in Afghanistan was $8860.80. In total 13,140 packages of vegetables were distributed to children from crops of BCG which is estimated to be worth $13,140. Each of the orphans spent 168 supervised hours at BCG in 2014. Additionally, two employees were paid a monthly base salary and benefited from BCG.

Security Metrics

The BCG played a major role in finding a foster home for 20 orphaned children. Without support from the BCG, these children likely would have been abducted by forces that mean to do them harm.

• 2015 PLAN (DOCX)