Last night, I had the opportunity to speak to the sisterhood at Temple Emanuel in Andover, MA. What a fabulous evening! The turnout was phenomenal - about 150 women. Many in the group had seen the documentary, Beyond Belief which made for a great Q & A.
No matter how many times I tell my story and explain why Beyond the 11th is so important I still tend to get emotional. The group of women made it a really safe environment though which enabled me to share a lot.
I can't say enough great things about the incredible women I met last night. I hope that the many offers to help truly work out to be long lasting relationships...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I've heard from Sahera!
Beth has retunred home from Afghanistan safely and brought with her a DVD of her meeting with Sahera. During their hour long conversation, Beth was able to get a pretty good update on how Sahera has been over the past 3 years. Bascially, it seems like all is good. Her children are all in school. Her eldest son is thinking about going to college. It was unclear to me if it was a money issue or a distance issue that has kept him from attending but I will investigate that further.
Sahera is no longer a part of the poultry rearing program. She actually sold her chickens after some of them had gotten sick. With the money from the chickens, she started a small tailoring business. It seems as if she has been pretty successful.
I also learned that Sahera's mother-in-law passed away a couple of years ago. For those of you who saw Beyond Belief, she was the woman who had lost 6 sons to war and illness. Since her mother-in-law died, Sahera no longer wears a burqa! I believe Sahera felt pressure from her to wear it.
During Beth's visit, she showed Sahera the video that I had made and Sahera spoke directly to me at one point. It was truly amazing to have an opportunity to see Sahera again - even if it wasn't real time.
The next time Sahera and I communicate, it might just be via phone. I've been told that she has a cell phone - yeah!!!
Sahera is no longer a part of the poultry rearing program. She actually sold her chickens after some of them had gotten sick. With the money from the chickens, she started a small tailoring business. It seems as if she has been pretty successful.
I also learned that Sahera's mother-in-law passed away a couple of years ago. For those of you who saw Beyond Belief, she was the woman who had lost 6 sons to war and illness. Since her mother-in-law died, Sahera no longer wears a burqa! I believe Sahera felt pressure from her to wear it.
During Beth's visit, she showed Sahera the video that I had made and Sahera spoke directly to me at one point. It was truly amazing to have an opportunity to see Sahera again - even if it wasn't real time.
The next time Sahera and I communicate, it might just be via phone. I've been told that she has a cell phone - yeah!!!
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About Me
- Susan
- MA, United States
- My husband, David, was killed on September 11th. At the time, we had two small children and I was pregnant with our third. Learning about the plight of widows in Afghanistan, I felt that I needed to reach out to them the way so many had reached out to me and my family. Decades of conflict and strife ravaged Afghanistan, leaving tens of thousands of women without husbands to provide for them, a cultural necessity in Afghanistan. In the fall of 2003, I co-founded Beyond the 11th. Our mission is to help provide financial and emotional support to Afghan widows and their children and to give them hope for a better future. Beyond the 11th’s grants are geared toward programs that help widows gain the skills necessary to generate their own income. We believe strongly that this is the best way to create lasting social change.