Small Steps

"Well, that was a massive amount of meat." - Karen, after eating at The Grill

Heading out to Barek Aub this morning I was full of anticipation and hope.  Today we got to sit with the Community Health Workers (CHW) and the Community Development Educators (CDE).  These women are a very large part of why this community is thriving, and it was an honor to spend the morning with them.  Each of them goes into their little section of the community and teaches others how to live a healthy, productive lives, and then those people teach others and the entire community becomes a strong, healthy place.  Mary and Katy were able to meet with them two years ago, and many of the women remembered them and were so excited to see them again.  As a team we had all been praying for many of these women before we got here, so to be able to sit in the room and see familiar faces allowed all of us to make a deep connection with them.

We then headed out to another widow's home, where we were able to sit with 7 women.  While we were there, Wakil was approached by another widow and she was hoping to show him her home.  As he turned the corner to see her house, he realized that she was still living in a tent in the midst of a group of homes, and his heart broke.  She lives there with 6 children and it is now November and will be getting very cold in the coming weeks.  Wakil ordered her a new home, on the spot, to be built in the next 20 days so that she will have a roof and walls for the winter.

The Sozo staff are amazing people that have incredibly large hearts.  They all have a desire to see positive change in Afghanistan, and they all know that it starts with simple steps.  Things as small as making sure that a widow and her 6 children make it through the winter.  Making sure that a small child has the chance to get a basic education and food before he begs on the streets.  Through teaching a young woman to boil her water before drinking it so that her family doesn't get sick.  By ensuring that a local clinic has basic medical supplies to treat infections.  Through each of these small steps they will change Afghanistan.  What an honor to be part of it all.