Lives changed

This man was struggling to provide for his family.  He has many sons who cannot get work anywhere near his village. Unfortunately he invested in a car so one of his sons could work as a taxi driver, unfortunate because he was actually losing money.  Our office in Tajikistan met with him at some of our trainings and helped him to draw up a business plan that would work.  He took out a $10,000 loan from a bank using the business plan to show them how he would pay it back.  He then bought a large truck that one of his sons is driving.  They are now able to afford food and fuel for winter to heat their home.

We set out to help people to start small businesses in some of the poorest areas of the world and we are already succeeding.  Because of your support our first office is functioning in Tajikistan.

5 families have started small businesses and three or four men are staying in Tajikistan instead of moving back to Russia.  We are already instrumental in keeping families together and helping men to provide for their loved ones.

That money will be going to buy food and to heat their homes this winter.  I am so proud of what we have accomplished and it's exciting to think that this is only the beginning.

Back in Pennsylvania

Hey everyone.  I am indeed well and back at home.  Our board and I are busy taking care of a backlog of work and are beginning the planning of the next few years.  We are trying to take our time and really think everything through.  Thanks to all who made this project lift off the ground.  We're up and now we're watching everything closely.

PS- We got our first monthly report and we're going over it now.

Getting Back...

My head bounced against the headrest as I waited for the cabin crew to shut the aircraft door.  I was zoned out tired and more than that I was emotionally drained from the six weeks in Tajikistan.  I love it and everyone, but I was also glad to be heading to Europe.  I was so tired that the minutes before they closed the door seemed to drag on into tens of minutes, then to over an hour.

I was drifting in and out of consciousness when a man stood up and began screaming.  The cabin door was still open.  It was my first indication that something unusual was going on.  We were still on the tarmac, the door was still open, and the angry Tajik man was suddenly surrounded by flight attendants.  There were other people standing up too.  I decided to keep my head down and lessen my profile, but my ears were up.

I began to look around me.  There was an English woman next to me, late 20's.  She had been talking to another girl ahead of me in that distinct British accent.  I hadn't uttered a word disguising my nationality.  I was just watching.  I couldn't help but become a little nervous.

Four of the men angrily grabbed their bags and shuffled off the plane, pushing their way forcefully past the also yelling flight attendants.  Others were nervous and uncertain, but they remained in their seats.  When the plane had cleared of the men a silence fell on us all.  The tension was pretty thick.  Some whispered worriedly.  The captain got on the intercom.  It was in Russian and Tajik.  I listened in on the two girls as they were talking and they pieced together that there was fuel coming out of the wing of the plane.  That seemed bad to me.

The flight attendants had us get up and claim our carry-on bags.  I thought that we were getting off the plane.  With a fuel leak the flight crew's priority is our safety right?  After waiting 10 minutes we were told to replace our bags.  Nothing happened.  Finally the captain got on the intercom again.  He spoke in Tajik, Russian, and English.  There was a slight fuel leak from the wing so they were following procedures.  No problem, we'll be taking off in 10 minutes.  I checked my watch and noted that we had already been sitting, dripping fuel for an hour and a half.

First, I must say that I was impressed that there was a procedure for a plane that's leaking fuel to take off.  I was interested and so were those around me about such procedures.  Eight uniformed military men stood about 40 yards away and were looking concernedly at the plane.  This went on for another half hour with no noticeable action.  Finally a man with a yellow plastic bucket came out and put it under the wing of the 737.  The plan became evident, a bucket and patience.

45 minutes later they shut the cabin door and a vehicle began to drag the plane away from the puddle of jet fuel on the tarmac.  Then they began the safety briefing by helping us to look for the safety exits.  The whole situation was absurd enough to make me laugh.  When the woman next to me asked if we should be concerned I said, "I don't think so."

We took off, we didn't blow up, and we landed 4 hours late.  I was glad to be alive and glad to be in Europe.

Sept. 11th

On September 11th I took off on the road to Dushanbe spending 8 hours along the border of Afghanistan.  Like most Americans I couldn't help but to think back 10 years to the events that led to our involvement in Afghanistan as a country.

I remember that I had just graduated high school and getting ready to go off to college.  I watched the news with everyone else in shock and horror.  I never thought that I would end up in Afghanistan helping the same kind of people that had done this to our country.  Back then I didn't know the difference between Shia and Sunni, and certainly was in the dark about Pashtus and Tajiks.  It's been a growing decade for me and I hope to have many more of my oversimplifications and biases replaced with compassion and real knowledge.

Before leaving there was a whirlwind of things to get done.  Unfortunately, the teacher that had helped me pass out the letters to the students told me to come back Saturday.  That was unfortunate because their school was closed Saturday and my many phone calls to the director weren't answered for unknown reasons. 

Having had the opportunity to meet and now work with Abdul Nazar, our business adviser, I must say that I am very impressed with his desire to help his people and to make a genuine difference in the region.  I count us lucky to have a man of such character and love working with us.

Our First Day

On Sunday we climbed into a car and began heading for a village up the valley where we were going to be doing a presentation on starting small businesses.  When we arrived the men were also gathering for the presentation.  The small room was decorated and cozy but it was still minimal in a way that reminded us that we were out in the villages.  The men sat down and Masrur began to introduce our organization and the project that we were doing, inviting the men to come down to the office if they have any further questions.
   
With that he turned over the meeting to Abdul Nazar, our first Business Adviser who began presenting a shortened form of our main presentation.  The men listened intently as Abdul Nazar spoke about risk and business and how to minimize the risk of investments.  He explained in simple terms the crucial components of a business, a product, a place, a price, and promotion.  Explaining these important ideas as well as a number of others in simple and practical ways has been the goal of our trainings.  The men asked questions and were attentive to the answers.
   
Afterwards, because it was our first presentation and it was in the village of Masrur's family we moved over to the corner of the room where food was being laid out.  Over potatoes and fish we continued the discussion as many of the men wanted to hear more ideas about potential businesses that could work in the area.  It was all very exciting to see the men wanting to work and to improve their community.

In true Pamiri style we traveled back to open our office with a ribbon cutting.  It was truly Pamiri, because another large meal was laid out a mere hour after eating in the village.  We laughed and celebrated as we cut the ribbon and sat down to eat and talk.  Masrur was about to head out of town for 2 weeks on a trip to Bangladesh and we were happy to have one more time to talk and go over plans. 

With all the excitement and progress it comes shadowed in the fact that my time here in Badakhshan is drawing to a close.  Next week I will be flying out of Tajikistan and will not be returning until next summer, to review and improve the project and hopefully expand it.  I have decided to leave a few things here so that I would not have to carry them back and forth each time, it feels good to do that.  I feel like it makes Badakhshan my second home, even if it is just some clothes, a backpack, and some powdered juice packets.

A Journey for Permission

As we rode up the valley in the director's Russian four wheel car, I was a bit nervous.  We were about to meet the local district leader and I kept peppering Abdul Nazar with questions and potential situations.  I was going to be sitting quiet while he represented his organization and in effect our project.  I was worried about a handful of questions and just wanted to make sure that everything would go smoothly.  We arrived and walked up to the whitewashed building.  There in front was a smiling woman with her hand outstretched.  That seemed to be a good sign so we went into the office and sat down.

Abdul Nazar, our first Business Adviser began to explain our project to the smiling woman.  We were going to open an office in her district to help people start small businesses.  We were going to provide trainings and classes for those who want to learn.  At this she got really excited.  She was very happy that we were going to open our first office in her district to help her people and then she started to talk about how the people really needed the training and the skills to start small businesses.  Abdul Nazar talked about all the organizations and banks in Khorogh that provide small loans and help for small businesses, but people do not know how to make their business succeed. They just lack basic business management training.
   
As he finished by telling the concerned leader about how we would be providing free internet to poor families that had children in other countries working.  She nodded her head in agreement and said in Russian, "xarasho."(it is good)  We wrapped up the presentation to the very excited local leader with confidence that we were on the right track.  She was very happy with our project and was glad we were going to be helping the people.  There were a few administrative items that we needed to do like write up a formal letter stating our intentions in the district and our goals, but it was just formality.  We had our approval to move forward.

On the way back we took an older man who had a fifty kilogram (110pound) sack of flour and a big jug of vegetable oil that he said the president had given him on the recent visit.  He was heading home to his house out in a village.  We let him out on the edge of a field by the mud covered rock houses.  It was a reminder of the poverty and how far we had to go.



Villagers sifting wheat on a flat patch of dirt in front of a mudded rock home.

Coming together

Two women harvest grass by hand to feed the goats and sheep during the winter.

I just got the final tally of donations to this project and the number is at $3,956 which is a perfect amount due to international transfer fees and the need for us to leave a little bit in our bank account.  Thank you so much to everyone who has sacrificed for helping the poor in Badakhshan to start small businesses to bring down the 80% + unemployment rate.  We are hoping to send the money over either today or tomorrow and begin purchasing the final items for the office.

Within a week we are hoping to have several lessons prepared.  One will be for village presentations on how to start a cooperative to have a village owned business.  We are hoping that some very poor villages will start canning fruits that already grow nearby.  Another training will be four to five weeks long for potential and current small business owners to come and learn the basics of running a small business.  After completing the training they will continue to receive advice and assistance with research to help them succeed.  Last but certainly not least we will also be preparing a presentation for students in high school promoting small businesses.  Most students now dream of working in other countries to get rich or perhaps working for an international relief organization, but few seem to want to own a business of their own.

It's been an exciting ride seeing all the pieces slowly come together.  Two years of planning and it's finally happening.  I'm overwhelmed by the thought of the people whose lives will be changed for the better as a result of this office.