Provide Care for Afghanistan's Abandoned Children

Sometimes things are lost in translation when doing international grassroots aid work.

Our Children's Garden opened for the 12th time in 13 years last spring and things happened as they usually do. Benchmarks were set, initial funds were wired and work started. Global Roots never wires the total budget for a project all at once. As our facilitator on the ground achieves each established benchmark, more funds are wired.

Our team quickly planted all of the seeds needed to grow the crops that the orphaned children in our program would take home to their foster families.The land was tilled and it took only two months for the first of our crops to be harvested.

While the crops were growing, the manager of the program hired the same female teachers we employed last year and a classroom was rented. This happened in early April. Around this time, Global Roots USA fielded a question, "should we hire another teacher to keep class sizes small or buy more furniture."

The answer was easy. Hire the teacher!

In recent photos and videos (part of our transparency reporting requirements), we were happy with the massive amount of food being sent home with the children (see photo one "crop distribution") and it was clear that the children were using their classroom time well. 1/3 of our students are females ranging in age between 12 and 16. These girls know that this is the only school program available to them because all secondary schools for girls have been shut down.

But we noticed a problem in the photos. The children are sitting on the ground outside (see photo 2).

When we studied the expense reports, we did not see any expenses listed for outside furniture. Our staff in Afghanistan told us that we had told them to hire a teacher instead of buying more furniture.

The communication problem has been recfitived. Outside tables and chairs have been ordered and the new school teacher retained!

One of our students, a 12 year old named Sama, told her teacher, "I don't mind sitting on the ground. I am just happy to have a school with the best teachers."

This month, we are having a local carpenter and his team make light tables and chairs that the children can use outside when it is too hot to study inside. 

Perhaps one day, we can afford air conditioning for our classroom.

Thank you for your ongoing donations.

Global Roots is proud to have found a way to keep the educational element of our food security program -- or Children's Garden as we have come to call it -- open. We would not have gotten where we are without the support of GlobalGiving donors. Thank you!!

We are currently talking to one of the world's largest children's NGO's about program expansion to five other districts in Northern Afghanistan. Stay tuned for more information on this.