The Sozo/Flatirons Construction Trip - Day 8

If you received my daily email updates you've seen most of it, but not all. Since my return I've added a few notes and comments which I've put in blue italic type so those of you who don't want to read it all again can pick out the "new stuff." <g> I've also added a couple photos from each day of the trip, which weren't always in the daily updates.

If you'd like to see more photos from the trip, follow the link to the left.  I took many of them, but the rest were taken by other team members Levi Dockendorf, Jeff English, Dave Harrison, Jordan Kejr, Micah Kirkwood, Michal Kmita, and David Pesek. Ron Barnes was there, too, but usually too busy keeping track of the rest of us to take photos. <g> If you'd like hi-rez copies of any of them just let me know.

Monday, June 30

Gotta first start off with some good news and an apology. The good news is that MICHAL is feeling much better and was able to join us at full strength today! You prayer warriors are something else... first the gale force winds and now this! <g> The apology is to Michal... I've been misspelling his name all this time! I won't go into why I thought it was spelled Mikel... lets just leave it with my bad. (In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, I should admit that I cleverly corrected the misspellings before posting the journal to the web.)

After breakfast this morning, Ron asked each of us to tell about one particular thing that had impacted us this week. Levi's comment was particularly poignant... he said that during the day on Sunday when we were wearing our "dostum/friend" shirts, one of the men he was working with pointed to the word "dostum" and said, "friend... no... no friend... brother!" What a blessing it is to know that some of the men of Barek Aub feel that way about us AND feel comfortable enough to tell us so!

Then it was off to Istalef, a village about 50km northwest of Kabul and almost due west of Barek Aub across the Shomali Plain, where Sozo has been active since 2002. In the 1970s Istalef was a lush, scenic foothill town, not all that unlike Boulder, with approx. 50,000 people living in the town and surrounding district. But following the Soviet occupation and particularly after the Taliban came through and destroyed all facets of the infrastructure, the population dropped to zero... everyone fled the area. After the fall of the Taliban people started returning, but had to deal with a critical lack of water, power, food, schools, jobs, and health care facilities. That's when Sozo stepped in and began supplying emergency aid as well as committing to a long term development program... exactly what they've done in Barek Aub.

In just a few short years, Istalef today has 12-16,000 families in the district (approx. 30,000 people) and Sozo has played a big part in many areas, particularly regarding public health. Sozo helped build and staff the health clinic that now serves a large number of the residents. The clinic's main services are in health care education, vaccinations/innoculations, emergency first aid, ongoing treatment of communicable diseases like leishmaniasis and tuberculosis, and all aspects of family planning including contraception, childbirth, and pre/post natal care. They also can and will transport patients who need more significant care to hospitals in Kabul or elsewhere. And this is all done for no charge to the residents -- it is fully funded by donations to Sozo.

It is hoped that -- although Istalef has a couple things going for it that Barek Aub does not, namely year-round natural water supply, proximity to power, and a history of self sufficiency in the region -- Barek Aub will someday flourish as Istalef has. If nothing else, seeing the way Sozo has worked in the community, allowing the local elders decide how best to pursue development, gives us a vision of how progress in Barek Aub will be made and hope for a viable future.

We got a full tour of the clinic today which sees about 60-70 patients each day and was bustling with activity... women with their children filled the hallways waiting to see the doctors and other health care workers who were there. The area around the clinic, once burned to the ground by the Taliban, is now lush with hundreds of fruit trees and evergreens. Dr. Qahar even shinnied atop the boundary wall and picked a few ripe mulberries for us to eat from a tree right outside the clinic.

After leaving the clinic we toured a large hotel that was once an exclusive resort, which now lays in ruins. From the deck you could easily see many of the new homes in the town which have been built among the destroyed homes and lush greenery that dots the area. We then walked through the "business district," a 3-4 block long area with shops selling everything from pottery to shoes, shovels to cabinets, and everything in between. Then it was back to the guest house for lunch and a brief break before heading out again.

In the afternoon we traveled across town to see the Darul Aman Palace... built in the 1920s by King Amanullah Kahn (yeah, I looked it up) but destroyed by rival mujahedin factions fighting for control of Kabul during the early 1990s. Even as a bombed out shell of its former self, it is an imposing structure that serves as a reminder of what Kabul used to be like and perhaps will be again someday. We then stopped by Chaila, a casual coffee house favored by ex-pats. Chaila would be just as comfortable in Boulder or Cherry Creek as it is in Kabul. Wakil treated us all to milk shakes, which we sucked down in record time.

Then we headed back to the guest house to get cleaned up before Wakil treated us AGAIN to a wonderful courtyard dinner at The Intercontinental Hotel in the hills overlooking Kabul. The Intercontinental is where news crews and visiting dignitaries stay when in Kabul and their traditional Afghan buffet, complete with chicken and lamb kebobs, is a royal treat... especially after days of eatin' dust out at Barek Aub.

I started with good news about Michal, but I have to close with maybe-not-so-good news about Ron... he wasn't feeling well enough to go to dinner with us tonight and that's never a good sign. OK prayer warriors... you know what to do! We need Ron fit as a fiddle tomorrow! <g>

That's it for today... time to get some rest as we've got a big day tomorrow, our last out at Barek Aub.

Please pray for Ron's health and an effective day of working with our new brothers at Barek Aub.

--Bob Tunnell

Istalef... a glimpse into the future for Barek Aub?
photo by Jordan Kejr

Inside the Community Training room at the clinic. Dr. Qatar discusses local community health training with Ron, Michal, Levi, and Jeff.
photo by Jordan Kejr

Istalef has a very active and colorful business district.
photo by Bob Tunnell

Darul Aman Palace... a shell of its former self.
photo by Bob Tunnell