Provide Care for Afghanistan's Abandoned Children

An update from our manager on the ground (JJ)

The trees our staff planted three years ago are giving fresh fruits now and students are tasting it for the first time. There are a lot of trees at BCG now and most of them have fruit this year. Peach is the most successful of all. Last week the children celebrated their first peach tasting! When I asked them how it taste? the answer was obviously positive “very sweet".

Also there are many apple tree which have apples this year but now they are raw. and will be ready to eat in a month inshallah (god willing). so after this there are not only vegetables at BCG but fruits too. again I congratulate it to Global Roots and its honorable donors specially those who helped us to make this garden and give these fruits and vegetables to children (orphans) now. -- JJ

Oversight challenge. Due to the country’s ever-changing political climate, it is getting more and more difficult for local Global Roots managers to transmit video of the Baharak Children’s Garden along with precise measurement data.

There isn’t single high speed internet link between Baharak and Kabul. We had hoped for a while that the country’s largest telephone and wireless company, Roshan, would help provide a line but negotiations have been slow. We are hoping to eventually transmit videos of our project by way of a one way wire that connects a hospital in nearby Faizabad with a hospital in Pakistan. The Pakistani hospital is connected to the World Wide Web so it would be very easy for the hospital to forward the data to us in the USA.

We are waiting for the various players to sign off on the deal. The videos show children growing and eating food — so we hope no outside authority will interfere with the transmission.

Oversight Mission. We are paying the expenses (about $600) for one of our transparency managers to travel from Kabul up to Baharak to conduct careful project oversight this spring. The Afghan Air Force will give our manager a lift in a “return of remains” helicopter flight.

Project Expansion. We are seeking a major grant from US AID to expand our project. Please stay tuned and don't hesitate to write your congressman on our behalf.

Annual Report. the annual report for this program will available in two weeks and it will automatically be sent to all GlobalGiving donors. Please stay tuned for the metrics for the program you have so graciously donated to..

Thank you!

Global Roota Management

Links:

• our web site