If what they say is true and a picture is worth a thousand words, then I’ll keep it short this time. This picture was taken from a vehicle while we were driving, quickly, through Kabul.
After weeks in Herat doing program start up planning, and meeting with local partner organizations, I’ve finally made it out to where I’ll be living and working. It’s a place called Chaghcaran, it’s in the central highlands of Afghanistan. It’s dry, dusty, and freakishly cold, like sleep in all your clothes cold, like maybe it’s time to finally apply to law school cold. It’s also hypnotically beautiful. Most of the homes are made of mud brick and built into the hillsides. At night the sky is ablaze with stars. It makes you feel alive, I don’t know maybe you feel so alive because you’re acutely aware that you could freaking freeze to death at any moment. If I’ve learned nothing else about Afghans, I’ve learned that these people are tough and I don’t just mean tough, I mean TUFF! You have to be to survive in a place like this. When the water can kill you, the weather can kill you, having babies can kill you, you’ve gotta be made of stronger stuff to make it through.
The team met with the head of the provincial hospital here this week. He seems like a decent enough guy. A guy that runs an under funded, under equipped government hospital that doesn’t have enough doctors and nurses because nobody is willing to come and work out here. Now that made me wonder, if the average Afghan is thinking to herself “what me go work in Chaghcaran, oh heck no!” Let’s just say that this is a not a good place to get sick. So our meeting went as they usually do, we asked deep probing questions about public health problems that he can’t solve, he then asked us for financial support that we can’t provide. We all take notes, sip tea, and shiver from the cold.
After weeks in Herat doing program start up planning, and meeting with local partner organizations, I’ve finally made it out to where I’ll be living and working. It’s a place called Chaghcaran, it’s in the central highlands of Afghanistan. It’s dry, dusty, and freakishly cold, like sleep in all your clothes cold, like maybe it’s time to finally apply to law school cold. It’s also hypnotically beautiful. Most of the homes are made of mud brick and built into the hillsides. At night the sky is ablaze with stars. It makes you feel alive, I don’t know maybe you feel so alive because you’re acutely aware that you could freaking freeze to death at any moment. If I’ve learned nothing else about Afghans, I’ve learned that these people are tough and I don’t just mean tough, I mean TUFF! You have to be to survive in a place like this. When the water can kill you, the weather can kill you, having babies can kill you, you’ve gotta be made of stronger stuff to make it through.
The team met with the head of the provincial hospital here this week. He seems like a decent enough guy. A guy that runs an under funded, under equipped government hospital that doesn’t have enough doctors and nurses because nobody is willing to come and work out here. Now that made me wonder, if the average Afghan is thinking to herself “what me go work in Chaghcaran, oh heck no!” Let’s just say that this is a not a good place to get sick. So our meeting went as they usually do, we asked deep probing questions about public health problems that he can’t solve, he then asked us for financial support that we can’t provide. We all take notes, sip tea, and shiver from the cold.
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man own his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”
Rest in Peace Gayle Williams - your efforts were not in vain
Rest in Peace Gayle Williams - your efforts were not in vain
2 comments:
Keep your sense of humor and perspective, and keep safe. International aide workers in Afghanistan have been in the news way too much lately.
what naomi said...
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