The road to Khorogh

It may be Ramazan and all the men are fasting but that was certainly not stopping the ambitious renovation of downtown for the 20th Anniversary of the independence of Tajikistan. Pushing through their physical hunger the workers had torn up the main road to the airport diverting buses and foot traffic to redo one of the busiest intersections in the city. It was a problem for me since the only way I knew to the vehicle bazaar was through the barricades and piles of earth. It was 7AM and I had my large luggage bag winding behind me like a loyal puppy and like a puppy it was struggling to climb over the curbs, the sidewalks, and other hazards. My other bag containing the laptop for our first district office and my other laptop were in the expedition backpack hanging from my shoulders which was surprisingly heavy. I had to take a detour on a road I had never been on. Relying on my internal compass I hurriedly pushed down the road 6-7 blocks then took the first road to the left taking me in the general direction that I needed to go. It was going well until the road twisted further South than I wanted to go and there were no other options except back alleys leading into a laborynth network of storage buildings and homes. Just as I was beginning to doubt the way the road began to look familiar, not exactly but similar to the exit to the bazaar. Another block and there was the gate for the hidden parking lot. I passed through the gate into another world. The lowland Tajikistan was starting to fade and it was beginning to feel a lot more like the mountains of Badakhshan.

That evening after an exhausting 14 hour drive (we made great time!) we arrived in the provincial capital of Khorogh. I liken the road to being placed in a steel cube with a sandbox full of sand being shaken for 14 hours by an angry giant. I found a bed to pass out on for the night and got up the next morning to begin the process of registration and also to look for a place to stay. The registration process took a couple hours and so we got lunch, both me, the director as well as the assistant director of NGO Lojvar (Non-Governmental Organization) which is the organization that will be conducting our project. We discussed the budget and office needs as well as our Roshtkala office and what we would need to do to get it working. Afterward, we visited two different possibilities for me to sleep at. Selecting an option with a friend of our assistant director I found myself moving into a beautifully furnished apartment. It is nicer than anything that I had lived in before in the area and it has been a great experience so far. The location is a bit far from downtown but the hot water pot, refrigerator, and shower all make up for it. (my apartment while living in Tajikistan did not have running water) It feels a bit weird being able to shower here but it's a good feeling.

It's been two full days of all kinds of happenings and movement with a good deal more to come.

First day in Dushanbe, Tajikistan...

The plane touched down at 3:50AM and the process of entering Tajikistan began.  The bus took us to the old hangar now used as a customs checkpoint.  Forms were handed out and we all lined up for our turn with the two manned booths.  Somehow I ended up at the back of the line like usually happens, even after my attempts to get a little ahead.  From there to twin old conveyor belts to pick up the luggage.  Then we lined up again to have our luggage stubs against our luggage.  Then comes the security check.  If you pass that you are allowed to leave.  The whole process took 40 minutes. Immediately upon exiting you're greeted by dozens of overly friendly taxi drivers who all want you as their passenger.  Did I mention that it's 4:30 AM?

One driver and I began haggling over price to go to a certain bazaar that was easy to explain. 
"The price of gas is really high," said he.
"Yes, but last time I only paid 25.  The price is too high."
"No, no God is my witness this price is fair," he said.
"30, 30 is fair," I said.
"No, the price of gas is really high."
I just looked at him as he went on.  He stopped speaking and saw that was as far as I was budging.
"Forty," he said.
I stuck out my hand and said, "Milesh" which means okay.
we hopped in his car and whizzed off into the night.  Jabbering about the weather, languages spoken, his wife and kids, my lack of a family, and of course a bit of politics at the gas pump, those Russians, Uzbeks, and the global financial situation.

Then I got out of the car a block and a half from my goal.  I began walking down the middle of the busy street.  Did I mention that it was 5AM?  The road was deserted except a few cleaning ladies were sweeping the street and sidewalks.  As I walked over the often repaired and lumpy road and the sidewalks I saw families starting to stir in the dark to get in one meal before light of day came and the fasting of Ramadan began again. I greeted an older man as he walked to the gate of his home.  He reflexively put his hand over his chest but was a bit startled by my greeting.

And here I am typing all this up in the living room of a friend who laid out a couple of blankets and a sheet for me to sleep on....

12 hours later I am posting this from a cafe in the center of the city.  More exciting things in the works so more to come...





   

Plans, plans, plans...

Plans have an annoying tendency not to come out the way we expect them, but they are invaluable anyways so here is my plan of what the next month will be looking like in my travels overseas.

Sunday, August 7th  Fly from Pittsburgh to Paris
Monday, August 8th Fly from Paris to Copenhagen
Tuesday, August 9th Fly from Copenhagen to Riga to Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Wednesday, August 10th  Arrive in Dushanbe, Register and Recover from trip.  Begin planning, shopping, and meeting with friends and other Non-profit workers.

Week of August 15th - 19th Arrive in Khorogh, meet with NGO Lojvar and begin drawing up contract.  We will also begin meeting with government officials to discuss the possibility of an office.
Week of August 22nd- 26th  Begin construction of offices and hire a Business Adviser, begin training.
Week of August 29th - Sept. 2nd  Meet with school children to deliver letters and do school presentations.
Week of September 5th-9th  Complete Business Adviser training, presentations, and recruit businessmen to start small businesses.
September 15th Return to Europe.

One week till wheels up!

Just seven days before the first project of Together for Afghanistan is underway.  So much has happened and there is much good news to report.

First we have accepted the grant application from NGO Lojvar for the first business adviser office.  I know it's been up on our website but we were still hammering out the details and it wasn't really real... but now it is.

Second, we are no longer just Together for Afghanistan! We will be changing our names from T4A and Together for Afghanistan  TO "Together for a Better Life" or "T4ABLE."  This has been in the works for awhile but we wanted to broaden the horizon beyond just Afghanistan to all the hard places in the world where we might have the opportunity to help.

Thirdly, we have applied to the IRS for tax exempt status so we're just waiting on that to come back approved.  While we cannnot guarantee that gifts will be tax deductible if we are approved all previous gifts would be tax deductible.  We'll let you know as soon as we hear back from them.

I will be blogging from Tajikistan as often as I am able to keep you up to date with the goings on of the project.   This week I will lay out the goals and timelines of the trip to make it easy to follow along.

Moving Faster...

Everything seems to be moving at quite a clip right now as deadlines are drawing ever nearer.  With all the time seeming to drain away there is tremendous amounts of good news.

I have acquired a visa to consult with NGO Lojvar in Tajikistan where I will be overseeing the initial stages of our partnership with them.  This means that our Business Advisor Project in Tajikistan is about to begin.  We are still in need of donations for that project.

Our Board of Directors is full and they are an exciting group of guys to work with.  We are working hard to complete our application to the IRS for tax exempt status.

All this happening by my flight out on August 7th.  Wow.

Everything is nerve racking but a great deal of work has been done and more is getting done everyday it seems.  This is truly exciting to see the past year and a half come together like it is.  Please join us in this exciting project.  Please email the address on the www.togetherforabetterlife.org website or link to it on your blog, facebook, or other website.

More exciting stuff coming in the next two weeks and then I will begin my live blogging from Tajikistan!

What do you do?

I've had a number of conversations with a number of people where the question, "what do you do?" came up repeatedly.  When talking about Together for Afghanistan the simple, yet broad answer, is we help people in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.  To which the next question seems quite predictable, "so what do you do?"

The whole point of saying "help" instead of getting specific is to say that we will do whatever is necessary to better the people in need, but it is terrible unspecific at the same time.  So I've had this question on my mind for the past few weeks, how do I get more specific?

Perhaps getting specific can be to look at what we are already doing.  Right now we are focusing on helping the poor start small businesses so they can have a stable income, which for unemployed in impoverished areas is huge.  We set up offices with advisers who will help provide information to potential small business owners and actively recruit villages to start co-ops to give jobs to people.

Perhaps getting specific could be to tell a story.  Last winter in Afghanistan there was a huge avalanche that hit a village and destroyed many of the home and killed close to 20 people, yet because it was in such a remote area the government did not respond to this disaster.  No organizations went to deliver food, no tents were taken to the homeless.  No one visited and just showed that they cared.  In a good world this would not happen in the first place, in a tolerable world we would at least help everyone, but it seems wrong when some people are apparently worth more than others.  So what do we do?  We will go to villages like this and at least do something.

Growing Needs...

Greetings everyone!

With upcoming deadlines for financing the first project comes a certain amount of apprehension.  We have set a beginning date of June 15th  for our first business adviser project to begin and have made a few commitments that are binding.  We have not raised this money yet and there are several needs even beyond money.

First, we are still looking for a person to serve on our board of directors.  It is my hope that we can find someone who is committed and passionate about the welfare of people on the other side of the world.  It is impossible to ask this of someone, but it is a greater impossibility to not to ask when there are such great needs in Badakhshan. 

Secondly, we are in great need of documentation such as IRS approval, Tajikistan approvals and other logistics that are a mountain of paperwork.

Thirdly, we are going to need to raise approximately $5,000, (according to my own loose estimate) in the next two months to fund our first project and for the initial training.

With such great needs have come some great friends who are doing what they can and are such a great encouragement.  Over the next few weeks I anticipate posting some of their stories of how they are helping the people of Tajikistan.