Partnering to build hope, capacity, and community

Dear friends,

2022 is only six weeks old and already we have seen a few challenges but most of all a lot of hope and vision from our teams and local partners. 

A little while ago someone quoted this proverb to me: 

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." 

(Proverbs of Salomon) 

I think that describes very well what we are experiencing in the middle of much trouble. Two stories for you: 

Afghanistan: 

For the last 5 months we were in touch with our local staff and partners, many facing fear and anxiety - hope had been crushed and deferred ... their hearts and souls were sick, virtual support can only help with limits. 

In January we joined the UN nutrition cluster, got training started, groups of staff meeting together, planning a Nutrition Project for Under 5 year old and breastfeeding mothers. The first of our international manager was able to go and join them for a few weeks and get things going. 

The staff and the international team, are starting to dream again. We are starting to see that we are still welcome, yes even invited to make a difference in these horrible times. 

If our team was a tree - it certainly was withering over the last months but now it is coming back to life, and we are full of vision and hope to provide life to many children and mothers in the next months. 

We are not sure yet if we will fundraise for this project here on GG - but if you want to contribute write us or give to this general project with a note Afghanistan Nutrition Project and we ensure that it will go to the right place!! 

Kazakhstan:

The country we considered the most stable of all our project locations started the year with riots, demonstrations, military shooting demonstrators. 

The team went into lock down. Once more there was fear and worry what was happening, where would this leave us our women's groups, the anti trafficking work, ...

but only 3 weeks later the groups are meeting again, and in the women's empowerment groups we see a trust and through that hope and life like never before. 

Last week a new women walked into the group - after listening to the others for some time, she said i have heard about you and that i can trust you not to judge or gossip. I need to tell someone something I have never told anyone before. 

Then she shared a story of abuse she had experienced as a girl. Something that in this "shame and honour" culture was not permitted to happen, or to be confronted. Something for which society blames the girls never the perpetrator.

For the first time in her life, this woman was able to unburden herself, find comfort and listening ears and hearts in this group of women who all have gone through hardship in life. Together they show and build in each other, resilience and hope ... through which they can find life. 

I hope you can celebrate these stories with us - and dream with us so that the tree of life might grow in the middle of these communities. 

Thanks for partnering with us for hope, capacity and community. 

Yours Andrea 

Links:

• follow us on facebook for updates 3x a week!
• visit our projects on our website

Dear friends of Operation Mercy,

as many of you know one of our biggest offices is in Afghanistan. So we want to give you a glimpse of the last days of some of our international staff in the country as well as my thoughts of the situation as we go forward.

 All our international staff were evacuated on the 17th of August. We are in regular contact with all our local staff and are happy to report that so far all of them are safe and unharmed. We have undertaken many efforts to bring those most at risk out of the country, but this is been extremely difficult.

The last days ... through the eyes of our colleague:

 A few days before I left my home in the North of Afghanistan, my taxi driver, whom I used to call now and then when I had to go somewhere, called me and asked if I was still in town. He offered me and my house mate to come and stay with his family, so that we wouldn't be alone given the security situation. This despite the fear among people in general that contacts with foreigners would even more compromise their safety in the event of a takeover by the Taliban. But my taxi driver – my friend – meant it: “It’s better if you stay with us instead”.

 Some families brought in an extra 3-4 families in their homes, as people fled the countryside into the city. Even some of our staff had their house full of guests (never would they called them anything else) but still came to work and took responsibility for a thousand other things at the same time. “How do you handle the stress” I asked a colleague. “It is what it is.” she said. “We could never do otherwise than to take them in.”

 Some people showed such a tight-knit calm those days before Mazar-e-Sharif was taken. Like they were watching a storm cloud build up over their heads, but steeling themselves. A friend who was there in the 1990s, and thus well aware of what could take place on the streets at the time of a takeover, said he would buy himself some canvases before the storm broke loose. "I won't be able to concentrate so I can read" he said, "but painting might work." As if he pulled out a mental sun lounger, sat down under open skies just waiting for the downpour. "I can't leave my family. I'll stay here." I myself moved on to Kabul before the first drops of the rains even began to fall. But with me I took a deep respect for the patience, care and faithfulness I have seen in many Afghans.

 The last few nights before we left town, I slept on our roof. But I wasn't sleeping. I looked at the stars in the balmy night breeze. Listened to the dogs barking now and then. Heard the sound of bombings, 3-4 of them, some distant away in a couple of disputed villages on the outskirts of the city. I prayed for the city. Felt grateful to be surrounded by it. Somehow being a part of it. And so, the sun rose over the rooftops.

 Afghanistan has had a sleepless night for 40 years. I pray it would dawn and for the sun to rise soon. I pray I would be there to see it.

Was it all for nothing?

That is a question many people ask these days, was all the work, the funds – yes even lives of soldiers and development workers – that we have to Afghanistan for nothing?

My deep conviction is NO! A generation of lives have been changed, girls and women have been to school, have learned that they have value and abilities – these are not things one can forget, unlearn or suppress with a change of government.

Our health projects have saved 1000s of new born children and mothers from death, our publishing project has brought books and stories into Afghan homes, the Self Help Groups and community water sanitation and hygiene projects have empowered women and whole communities to care and work together for what is going on in their neighbourhoods. These are lessons learned, behaviours practised, and relationships build that can not be undone by a law or rule.

So we look into the future with hope, even as all work is suspended and our local staff are staying at home to reduce the risk to their well-being at this point.

Yes the future under the new rule will look different, but we hope that they will also keep their word that they value the contributions of international organisations in health and education and that in due time, it will be safe for our people to return to work and once more “restore hope, grow capacity and promote community.

One key condition is that we will be able to employ and work with and for women in the future.

We will keep you updated how all of this will go forward over the next months – but the foundation for new strategies to serve Afghan people in Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries will be laid now, so we continue to be YOUR Partner for supporting the people of Afghanistan.

I hope you excuse this strong focus on Afghanistan in this news update.

We are also celebrating 30 years of Operation Mercy this month - more about that on our social media spaces, for this the Operation Mercy leaders and the board will meet this week. They will also discuss many other plans and strategies to bring hope, capacity and community to places where it is most needed in this world.

I will update you soon about the discussions and discissions taken on that.

Yours Andrea

Links:

• visit our projects on our website
• follow us on facebook for our 30 year Birthday month!