Last November I received a call from Reverend Billy Olsen, pastor of Pine Forest Methodist Church, located in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He and a group of friends had decided to raise funds to provide Afghanistan with fortified rice packages through Stop Hunger Now, a phenomenal organization that has provided more than 11 million meals around the world since 2006 www.stophungernow.org. They sent me 5 packages by overnight mail which I took to Kabul a few days later. The first step was to try the rice ourselves. It passed the taste test, although it could have used a little hot sauce.
It took two months to obtain the approval of the Afghan Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, and Ministry of Finance. Last Saturday over 300 volunteers, including military personnel from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, packed over 18,000 rice packages at the Merci center, enough for over 100,000 meals. We're awaiting final approval of the shipment through the Denton program and expect to distribute the food in two refugee camps within 45 days.
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Now for the controversy (there always seems to be at least one);
I had a lengthy conversation with a very educated and dedicated Afghan humanitarian aid worker in Kabul who argued that temporary relief aid is by its nature temporary and fosters dependence. I agree wholeheartedly with the view that our aid should neither be temporary or support dependence. But, neither he or I are faced with the daily struggle of not having food to eat.
I explained how TIE is heavily involved in finding ways to empower Afghans, through education and economic development. In the end I argued, "I have two choices. I can either work toward bringing the food to Afghanistan or let it go to another country. What do you want me to do?" He smiled and remained silent. He was cornered, or at least he led me to believe he was.
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What is particularly reassuring to me about this story is the power of a few individuals like Reverend Olsen to make things happen. He was the catalyst and the driving force. By the end there were hundreds. I now have another story and photos to share in Afghanistan. I have become a messenger for numerous grass roots efforts. Being a messenger inside Afghanistan is the best role to have. Why? Because both Sophocles (442B.C.) and Shakespeare (1598) advocated the doctrine of "Don't kill the messenger". Surely the principle is well established by now.
Budd
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Trust In Education
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