Afghan intern: "MEDA Afghanistan has changed my life, too!"
By Parwana Ibrahimi
MEDA Afghanistan not only changed 2,250 village women’s lives, but MINE too. I can’t express how happy I am to have been a part of MEDA in bringing positive economic change. Alleviating poverty is one of the biggest challenges in our country, and my initial goal is to contribute in fighting this challenge. I am really grateful to MEDA for giving me such an opportunity.
I am filled with hope seeing illiterate village women’s passion and enthusiasm for learning during their monthly business development training as part of MEDA's Through the Garden Gate (TTGG) project. These women have never had a chance to learn to read.
I was amazed when I first met Marzia and her two-month-old baby. A TTGG sales agent, Marzia is eager to learn and participate, bringing her baby with her to training. Besides helping in designing training materials, I love to facilitate these sessions and see Afghan women's empowerment.
They can’t read or write, but they still ask for written handouts at the end of the trainings. They go home and find someone who can read to them, so that they remember their lessons. Since beginning their involvement in MEDA, these women see new hope and are ambitious to learn and get ahead.
Recently, I attended the annual Kabul Agriculture Fair. The fair is an opportunity to promote and encourage local producers, including almost all of the women involved in TTGG. They sold their produce and were exposed to many other sellers and merchants. This environment provides a great learning opportunity in addition to serving as a market for selling their goods.
These women farmers once again surprised me with the courage and knowledge they have gained to represent their work and interact with international and local guests. I could see optimism and hope among these women, who wanted to thank MEDA individually. These are some of the experiences I will take with me forever. These experiences have heightened my courage to help any woman reach her potential and contribute toward developing the local economy.
Visiting villages in Parwan is another highlight of my internship with MEDA Afghanistan. Parwan is my family's home province, yet I had never been there before. I have gone on the weekly trips to the villages for training and monitoring, and have seen the women's demonstration plots, crops and harvest – all evidence of the project's great results.
I have also witnessed women’s great contributions to TTGG’s new initiatives – solar dryers, grape trellising, underground storage and greenhouses.
Women who were never exposed to markets, were only housewives, couldn't read or write are now multi-taskers. They take care of their family as housewives and bread winners. They bring their farming products to market and help themselves and their families in economic and social development.
Once again I would like to thank MEDA’s country manager, Catherine Sobrevega, and all the MEDA Afghanistan team for their great help in promoting Afghan families’ lives. I will cherish these memories as I return to Canada to my studies at Trent University.
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