Training

A few days ago, as we were doing some community development training with the female staff for the healthcare center, we asked the girls to do an exercise where they made two drawings. First, they were to draw a picture of the current situation of women in this city; then afterwards, a picture of their dream for this city.

Here is what they first drew.







When we asked the women to explain their drawings, the first thing the office manager said was, pointing to the binding around the enchained woman, “Do you know what this is called? Its very sharp, they often have it around the airports here.” I hadn’t looked closely and thought it was just a rope. But looking again, I realized, with an emotion I can’t describe, that she had drawn razor wire.

Her description of the woman with all the children provoked a similar emotion when she described how this woman lost her husband in a rocket attack (disturbing picture not included) and was left with no home and six children, in absolute destitution, and then stated simply, “Do you know, I know this woman.”

Here is the story she told to go along with the picture of the four people.

‘Do you know, [everything begins with that] I also know this girl. Her mother and father, they sold her. To an ooold, ooold man. But he was very rich! And they were so poor. They have other children. But he paid them so much money!! He gave them 20 lak afghani (approx. $4,000 USD). And so they sold her. She was very young, maybe thirteen, fourteen years old. And you know, he has already three wives. She is his fourth wife. Her mother allowed her to go. And with the money, they bought a house. Before that, they were too poor.’

Sometimes, a picture by itself says a thousand words. But sometimes when you know the story behind it, there are no words.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the drawings they did of their dreams for the future. But we cannot possibly stop there, NO! Because that is NOT the ending for Afghanistan.

Roads, trees, clinics, schools, food, orphanages. These were the things they drew. A woman doctor, crossing the street, with the freedom to leave her house and go to work. A clean water supply. All things that are so normal in our world. Things that are possible here, that we are working to implement. There is only a finite amount of effort required to progress from the first set of pictures to the second. That’s why if any of us contribute in even the slightest way to this effort, we will have been a part of something big, and beautiful, and important. We have the ability to improve life on this earth.

As I am getting ready to go home, and have just four weeks left here, there is one thing I look forward to more than any other. I don’t suppose it would be hard for any of you to guess: I cannot wait to be free again.

But the women here will still be waiting. They are just one slice of all the humanity across the world, waiting for someone to remember.