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Kevin Avers and Rameen Javid of the New Rotary Club in Kabul have done it again – provided a new cultural experience for the children of the House of Flowers while also raising awareness and funds! Last year they hosted a bowling party fundraiser, and now just two days ago, on Wednesday December 11,  Rameen Javid hosted an exhibition of the children’s art at his gallery in Kabul, The Galleria. Below is Kevin’s email describing the evening:

Everyone circulated, chatting, viewing the art on display and of course talking to the children. The event finished almost magically at 7 pm as planned and the kids headed back, I hope full and very happy. We gave them a set of Afghan themed playing cards each as a little token of the evening.

This message was sent to donors and friends of MEPO in mid-December 2013.

An Island of Love and Harmony: The Birthday of the House of Flowers

October 2002 – present

One may ask, how could there be an island of happiness, security and love in the midst of a sea of instability and cross-fire between militaries and militias? Yet for the last eleven years our eyes, ears, and hearts have witnessed the shift from poverty, uncertainty, and negligence to vigor, vitality and passion for learning for more than 50 children in the House of Flowers. Undeniably, a magical feeling fills the House where those children have captured the hearts of the staff. Enduring the hardest financial situations while also turning down more lucrative positions, the staff have unquestionably shown their dedication to the service of these children, going beyond any conventional description of ‘holding a job’. We in MEPO strongly believe it is the power of LOVE. That also describes the conviction of the donors to the House of Flowers who have never forgotten those striving children. We salute these loving, interactive souls and hearts.

It was exactly one year ago that the House of Flowers was in grave danger of folding due to financial strain. But thanks to the responsive generosity of donors and their commitment to the Montessori model, the House survived and became even stronger. We are now undertaking our fall donation effort to build funds for next year’s budget. It is crucial that we collect funds for next year’s budget, and also to have more members who commit to monthly support. 

We hope you will be able to continue to be a part of the global network that supports these children’s lives. The future of Afghanistan is in limbo, which is why these children need our commitment more than ever.  

With gratitude to you,

Mostafa, Allison and MEPO

As promised, Judy Duchesne – Peckham’s book of photography of the House of Flowers, Healing Afghanistan,  is out! And it is beautiful. A large, hardback full color book in this time of digital books is a real treat, especially when it features the children that so many of you all have been supporting for years. This book has pictures from when they were very young, and it is a marvel to see them then and now and realize how much has happened in their lives and how wonderfully they have matured.

All this time, we’ve been waiting for something like this: on Thanksgiving Day we received an email from Dr. Inayat at the House of Flowers: a bomb had gone off within 100 m of the House at 8 am. It was a great blessing that no one was hurt, but some windows at the House were blown out and it was terribly frightening for everyone. (The apparent target was a nearby private high school where government workers and affluent families send their children.)

The smallest children of the House of Flowers were off at school, and some of the staff were just arriving that morning. After the blast went off, the remaining children sat in a room with their teacher Fatima while the staff locked the gate and stood guard as police and security swarmed the area.

It was a wake-up call to be ready, and our staff are now working on emergency plans, training the children on where to go in the case of such events, such as taking shelter in the basement of the House.

It is a sign of the times that this bomb did not even make the news. As the security scene shifts in Afghanistan, we must be ultra-careful with the lives of the children and staff at the House of Flowers. We remain committed to their lives, even as other NGO’s are pulling out in fear of the future. But they need us now more than ever.

In 2003 and 2004, Judy Duchesne-Peckham of California visited Kabul and the House of Flowers.

As a photographer, she was able to capture the beauty of the children and the place in a very unique and powerful way. Now she has decided to publish her work in a book in order to benefit the House of Flowers and tell its story.

This fall, her book Healing Afghanistan: Hope for the Children, will be released, and will include writings by Mr. Nasrat and Fahim of the House of Flowers, as well as Mostafa and Allison, besides her gorgeous photographs.

At www.healingafghanistan.com  you can see the book and place an order.

The profits from the book will go to the House of Flowers. It’s a great book to give as a gift, or just to treasure as a reminder of the children. Please check it out. If you have any questions, please contact us.

We are grateful to Judy and her husband for the great publicity they have provided for the House of Flowers, and we hope they sell LOTS of copies of the book. Please tell your friends!

This picture is of Judy and her husband Dave at their Healing Afghanistan booth at the recent Montessori Congress International Conference held in Portland, Oregon, telling Montessori professionals about Judy’s book and the work of the House of Flowers.

www.healingafghanistan.com 

Allison Lide, Montessori teacher and Co-Founder/Education Coordinator of the House of Flowers,  has made presentations about the House of Flowers as well as Montessori education philosophy.These powerpoints provide explanations about the House of Flowers and Montessori education, and contain photos and videos of both the House of Flowers as well as  exemplary Montessori classrooms in the United States.

To access them please go to the Links and Connections page, or click here.

**In August 2013 she will be presenting again at the International Montessori Congress Conference. Please check back later to see the powerpoint for that presentation as well.

• Hitting the Big Time! The House of Flowers might be in the movies! Anna Lee, a Montessori teacher and head of school who presented at a TEDx talk about Montessori education, is in the process of attaining support to produce a documentary film about Montessori programs around the world. She is very keen on highlighting the House of Flowers as one of them, and a cameraman in Kabul may be heading to the House of Flowers soon to do filming!

• Girls Education VideoIn addition, in May a team from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation visited the House of Flowers to film our educational program in their special on girls education in Afghanistan. The House of Flowers was shown as an exemplary model that supports girls education and their holistic development. We will let you know if/when we have a link to the program to see the video.

• The Importance of Art The French art group Constellation, which has a history of doing art with children and worked with the House of Flowers some years ago, may be coming back for more! In this project, the Constellation staff brings art supplies and then facilitates an enriching and stimulating day of art with the children. The results are always beautiful. Once it happens and we have pictures, we’ll share them with you!

•  Montessori Materials in Dari – A Collaboration The Montessori pedagogical materials of charts and timelines provide the structure for teaching geography, botany and history. But the materials at the House of Flowers are in English. Benoit Dubruc of the Montessori community has very generously offered to produce a set of materials in Dari for the House of Flowers, but this requires careful translation of many technical terms, especially in geography.

• Enter Sholeh Elhami: A long-time friend of the House of Flowers who visited the House in 2005 and founder of GISCorps, a volunteer geographers association, Sholeh is linking the House of Flowers with two Afghan geographers in Kabul. Besides the translation work that they will hopefully help with, we are very excited about the potential of their visiting the House of Flowers. It would be an extremely powerful example for the children to meet Afghan professors and professionals as many of our children are reaching the end of high school and will begin considering their career options.

• University of Salerno Collaboration  Two intensely dedicated supporters of the House of Flowers, Paola Valitutti and Susanna Fioretti, have made connections with a pedagogy expert at the University of Salerno in Italy. There is potential for this collaboration to result in support for further translation of Montessori materials, publication of Fatima and Qudsieh’s journals and writings about the Montessori teaching experiences in Kabul, and maybe even some small-scale training of other teachers.

These potential projects are encouraging and exciting. They remind us of the depth of the House of Flowers project, and all the different people who bring so many talents and so much care to the work with the children. 

We will keep you posted! And if you have any other ideas, please be in touch.

Dear Friends of MEPO and the House of Flowers,

It is summer in Kabul. For the children of the House of Flowers, that means lots of time to play in the backyard before cooling off in the shade, enjoying luscious watermelon. For the adults, this year that means Ramadan, the month of daily fasting – not easy during the long hot days of summer.

The past 3 months have been generally smooth and steady, with the types of events that come with a house full of children. The teachers continue to send reports of their creative classrooms, thoughtful and generous individuals continue to reach out to us, and fundraising efforts are steady.

Some highlights of life in the House of Flowers during the spring:

• Razia: Razia’s university studies are well underway, and she is the happy beneficiary of a scholarship from the organization A More Balanced World, providing her with a monthly stipend administered through the House of Flowers.
• Plumbing: Running a house full of children creates a lot of wear and tear! Recently the staff has been struggling with an ongoing water leakage problem at the House. This level of maintenance was not anticipated in our budget, with repairs expected to be hundreds of dollars. We are very grateful to the organization Canadian Women for Women of Afghanistan that is offering to help offset these repair costs.
• The Children: Over the past three months, there are endless stories of the children’s escapades and daily lives. Some not so fun, like hearing that 11-year-old Naqeeb fell down outside and broke his arm. Other stories are wonderful and heartwarming, like Fatima’s description of the children working together in her class:

“Abdurrahman helps with Allijuma to read and write; he is a new boy in class 3rd .
Wahida  helps Sahar  in reading and writing. Feroza and Fereshta  help Ikram , Mujtaba  and  Farida  in all lessons. They are working together by help of each other. I think when children help each other it is a very good way for review of last lessons. They will become a very good helpers in the future in the way of Razia.”

•  The Staff: The teachers Fatima and Qudsieh continue to grow and develop as creative implementers of Montessori pedagogy. They regularly send pictures of the children’s activities, and the classrooms are adorned with the children’s work. They are strengthening the children’s writing through creative essay topics.
• We are hoping to be able to send one of the teachers for AMI Montessori training in India next year, but will need to find sponsors for support. If anyone is interested in helping support a teacher for training, please let us know! Write to us at mepo.hope@gmail.com
• The rest of the staff are well, except that Khaled, our beloved quiet and gentle guard, had to resign his position due to his health issues. Everyone misses him.

Updates About MEPO:

• Charitable Support in Other Countries MEPO specializes in providing immediate support to those in need whenever and wherever such people are encountered. Over the past months MEPO has spent about $3000 providing such individualized support through free medical check-ups, purchases of medicines, food aid, clothing, and financial aid to people in Nepal and India.
• Sharing Our Story : In April, Allison presented to the Montessori headquarters community in Amsterdam, telling the story of the House of Flowers as a Montessori environment. In July she will also be presenting about the House of Flowers at the International Montessori Congress in Portland, Oregon.
• Both talks explain how we have adapted Montessori education to the Afghan environment by focusing on the essential principles of Montessori, and how much the children have benefited.
• Finances: Fundraising has been steady and some wonderful developments have occurred, including a generous grant from the Canadian Women for Women of Afghanistan. This grant has the potential for renewal after 6 months, providing much needed continuity. We continue to search for foundations interested in supporting the House of Flowers, as well as Montessori schools that would like to become part of this effort.

Some Exciting Things That Might Be Coming...

This newsletter was sent to MEPO Friends via email on March 14, 2013. 

Dear MEPO Friends,

The harsh winter of Afghanistan is slowly coming to an end, and the first day of spring, March 21, is approaching. That day, Naw Ruz, is the Afghan/Iranian New Year. All children, including in the House of Flowers, love this time of year since it means new clothes, sweets, and gifts of money from adults (eidi).  All are cleaning and decorating the House of Flowers in honor of spring. MEPO will be sending extra money for the children’s new clothes, for the traditional eidi gifts of money for the children, for a Naw Ruz meal of fish, meat, nuts, and sweets, and for holiday bonuses for the staff.

In between, some pre-Naw Ruz good news: We just learned that our little Razia, all grown up now, passed her university entrance exams and has been admitted in the Education Faculty of Kabul University! (Sayed Jamaluddin College) Just to remember, Razia was about 8 years old when she and her sisters Nadia and Shukria joined the House of Flowers as our first children in 2002. Now Razia is 19, a mature and responsible high school graduate ready to head off to college. We all heartfully congratulate her for her success, and commend her teachers and the staff for the last 10 years as well as the caring donors who have made an enormous difference in Razia’s life. On the day she got the news, she brought sweets to the House to share the celebration with her family : the House of Flowers children and staff.

One of the beautiful aspects of the House of Flowers is the supportive family atmosphere for everyone, and during these past few months the children have been involved in celebrating  the events of life: a staff member’s exciting engagement announcement, a child’s birth within a staff member’s family, a remarriage, and even, sadly, a death within a staff member’s family. In all of these events, the children have been fully involved in the parties, celebrations, and ceremonies, truly and deeply involved in the processes of life from beginning to end.

The children of the House of Flowers continue to do well, making beautiful projects in their Montessori classes and enjoying the winter snow. Two new children have joined the House and have adjusted well, while two of the older boys (Munir and Hekmat) have left the House to rejoin their extended families. The staff continue their amazing and dedicated efforts, especially this winter, working  tirelessly to keep expenses to a minimum while we focused on raising funds.

It is thus our pleasant duty to thank you for your support, especially these last few months with the challenges we faced in raising funds in order to restabilize the House of Flowers. Things are looking good and are much more stable now, thanks to your outpouring of steady support. We can happily report that we have enough money now to easily get through the summer. We have set a goal of raising $18,000 by the end of June, and then we’ll be set for the rest of the year. Expenses are now nearly $6000 a month. Please pass on the word to others; we need everyone’s help in this. We are still trying to raise more membership commitments.

And so Happy Spring and Happy Naw Ruz to you, from us and from the staff and children of the House of Flowers! Please check the website and Facebook for updates and more pictures: www.mepoonline.org  There are stories, pictures and updates summarized below which can be found on the News section of the site .

Peace,

Allison and Mostafa and the MEPO Staff

PS- Here’s a Naw Ruz idea for Iranian and Afghan families living in the West: In the spirit of sharing with those less fortunate than ourselves,  perhaps parents would be interested in encouraging their children to set aside part of their Naw Ruz eidi to share with the children of Afghanistan, in the same way some children save from their birthday money or Christmas money to share with others.

*          *          *

Below are some highlights from the past few months. Most of these stories are described in more detail on the website under the News section and on our Facebook page, so please check them out so you can see PICTURES and get more of the story. And please pass on the website to others!

•  The children and staff celebrated International Women’s Day in an annual day of celebration at the House of Flowers.
•  Razia passed her exams and was accepted into Kabul University.
•  The New Kabul Rotary Club hosted a bowling party fundraiser for the House of Flowers, which was also an exciting first bowling experience for some of the children.
•  Lantern Projects (www.lanternprojects.org) has raised money dedicated for producing some needed classroom materials in the House of Flowers, such as small work tables and building blocks for the children.
•  Countryside Montessori in Illinois and New World Montessori  in Wisconsin joined in the effort, raising admirable funds for the House of Flowers while also sharing the story with American children.
•  MEPO was very happy to be able to promise the staff a well-deserved pay raise starting in March.
•  Fatima and Qudsieh, our House of Flowers teachers, continue to develop their Montessori teaching skills, implementing extensive hands-on curricula with the children. Pictures of the classroom have been posted on Facebook.
•  In March the House of Flowers was awarded a $10,000 grant from Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Nove Onlus, an Italian NGO, committed to covering the House rent for 6 months. We are grateful to both organizations, as well as some anonymous donors and all those who have helped. (All are acknowledged on the website.)
•  MEPO has also continued to do small-scale humanitarian projects in other places over the winter, such as in Bhutan and India.