Bpeace in Afghanistan

Neelab (left) and Kamela in the courtyard of the Mercy Corps compound.


Greetings blog readers, this is Paula blogging today. Early this morning Athena and Marla took the UN flight back to Dubai. I am now solo here in Kabul, but with Najib and Laila close at hand I don’t feel alone. I write this on my laptop from the hotel restaurant, and although I very much miss my Bpeace cohorts, I’m not sorry to have a quiet evening and the opportunity to go to bed early.

This morning guide Najib and driver Haider squired me to the Mercy Corps office where I met Kamela and Neelab. These lovely young women are full of energy and ideas, and are in the process of launching a consulting business.

The afternoon took me to Suria’s home where she was teaching a group of girls how to do the crocheting that is a significant part of her business. Also on hand were three of her daughters (she has five daughters and one son), several grandchildren, and some of her women workers. It was a friendly group and the atmosphere was warm.

Happily, the days here have been sunny with blue skies, but its hard to describe the dust that permeates Kabul. Think bad Los Angeles smog but with particles in the air that you can actually see. One of my zoom lenses has stopped zooming past 55mm, the cause of which I suspect is dust mucking up the moving parts. Many people have hacking coughs, also due to the dust. But the early morning and late afternoon light is still beautiful, and above the haze rise snow-capped mountain peaks. Following is a photo gallery of the above.