Afghan woman fulfills unusual dream through MEDA
Attending the AWBF Conference were Roshan Gul, sales agent from Balaghel, Lana Mo, MEDA horticulture development manager, Mahbooba Hassimi, village facilitator from Balaghel, Helen Loftin, MEDA regional manager, Mahnooz Mohamad, sales agent, Catherine Sobrevega, MEDA country manager, and Parinaz Hassimi, MEDA business development manager.
MEDA had a chance recently to fulfill an unusual dream for Mahnooz Mohammad, a sales agent in MEDA’s Through the Garden Gate (TTGG) project in Afghanistan.
MEDA had been invited to give a speech Feb. 25 at the AWBF (Afghan Women's Business Federation) Growing Women’s Business Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. The conference was aimed at addressing business women's issues and at finding solutions through mechanisms acceptable within current cultural norms and standards.
"We asked our sales agents if anyone was interested," reports Catherine Sobrevega, MEDA's Afghanistan country manager. "We informed them that there would be many people attending the conference and there would be radio and TV crews covering the event.
"Mahnooz volunteered to speak on her experience as a sales agent. She said she had always dreamed of being famous, of speaking at a microphone in front of many people where there were TV cameras."
With the assistance of Mahbooba, her village facilitator in Balaghel village, Mahnooz obtained permission from her husband and the village elders. She later reported, "My dreams came true with MEDA."
Mahnooz, 37, is married and with five children. Through her involvement in TTGG, she has become one of the project's best lead farmers and sales agents, travelling to Kabul or nearby villages to sell her produce.
Before joining MEDA, though, Mahnooz' life was difficult: Her husband was jobless. He had mental problems related to his drug addiction and always beat Mahnooz. To survive, she collected old, dried bread from her neighbors, and put it in water to soften it to feed her family.
When MEDA started working in her village, Mahnooz asked her husband for permission to get involved. The head of the men's community development council supported her request, and Mahnooz was very happy when her husband permitted her to join TTGG and become one of the lead farmers.
Some of Mahnooz' earlier, simpler dreams began to come true: Through the monthly allowance of $50 that she received as a lead farmer, Mahnooz started to change life for her family. She also started to earn income from her fresh vegetables, and dried onions to obtain good prices in the off season. Now, she can buy food for her family, and her husband no longer beats her. He has found a job as a policeman in Parwan.
And on Feb. 25, Mahnooz shared her experiences with 150 business women, international NGO representatives and senior government officials at the AWBC conference ... another dream fulfilled.
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