MEDA staff members Brenda Burkholder and Linda Whitmore, both of MEDA's marketing resource development department, were recently in Afghanistan. Here are some of their thoughts on their travels:
Linda Whitmore
Brenda and I, pictured centre left and right, are shown visiting an Afghan village, Sofyan Laghmani, that is participating in MEDA’s Through The Garden Gate project.
To our left is Maryam Sidiqi, executive director of the Afghan Women’s Business Council, MEDA's partner in Afghanistan. Upon our arrival in the village, we were invited to sit on carpets and cushions in a shaded corner of a family compound, surrounded by its mud walls.
The women farmers participating in the project gave us green tea, yogurt, okra and homemade bread filled with onions and other vegetables. (When the cameras came out, the women covered their faces with their head scarves.)
The woman in pink, foreground left, showed us a savings box from one of the village's savings and credit groups. The savings boxes were constructed from recycled oil cans, etc. (see the blue can at centre).
We wore “culturally appropriate” clothing – the shalwar kameez – a long tunic top and baggy pants. These comfortable outfits, made of light cotton, were a blessing in Afghanistan's summer heat.
The two villages that we visited were by far the highlight of the trip. It was amazing to see the happiness on the faces of these women, who, by Western standards, have nothing and have had hope for nothing. Many had to flee their homes to escape the Taliban, and came back to rebuild their villages and their lives. Some lost husbands, children, brothers and their belongings to the war.
In addition to earning money to help support their families, they also have a chance to learn about good horticultural practices that improve their yields. They share that knowledge with others – including the men in their family and people from other villages who have heard about the project.
In their eyes, we saw hope – hope for a better future for themselves and their families.
Brenda
“As we walked Through the Garden Gate in Village Qalai Khana, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, we discovered ambitious farm-business women at work. Green healthy tomato and cucumber plants thrived in neatly planted trellised rows. And in the spirit of the women we met, self-assurance and pride in work accomplished was evident.
We walked on high narrow paths through the garden, and witnessed the precarious, yet hopeful, beginnings of prosperity for the 2,250 women in this program. Each woman brought her handcrafted tin savings box, tilting it for us, and proudly showing us the coins and bills earned and saved to repay farm microcredit loans. Perhaps some of these funds will be used to provide an education for girl-children, and to build a business that can be passed on to the next generation of women.”
