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If we are to reach real peace in the
world, and if we are carry on a real war against war, we shall
have to begin with the children.
-Gandhi
The Story of the House of Flowers
The House of Flowers orphanage was founded
in September 2002 when MEPO first came to Kabul, Afghanistan.
Our goal was to establish a safe place for orphan children to
live. But it was to be more than just a home: the House of
Flowers was designed to also be a rich center of learning and
inner growth following the philosophy and structure of a
Montessori school and environment. We wanted to provide the kind
of environment that would allow children’s spirits to grow and
recover from the traumas they had experienced in their few years
of life, and make them stronger for the challenges that lie
ahead, living in a place like Afghanistan. Working closely with
our excellent Afghan NGO counterpart, HEWAD, we established the
necessary government protocols and in December 2002 the house
was open to children.
The teachers and staff were trained in
pedagogical and behavioral aspects of Montessori methodologies
and psychology. All worked hard to establish an environment of
joy, respect and freedom with a sense of self-responsibility and
contribution to the whole. The children were encouraged to
explore, to ask questions, to cooperate rather than compete and
to talk rather than fight.
In stark contrast to the aggressive and
physical environment that the children came from, in the House
of Flowers problems are resolved with peer mediation, time-out,
and open and clear discussions with the children.
The children have responded dramatically to
the peaceful means of problem-solving as well as the open method
of education used in the House of Flowers, and have matured from
their initial weak, aggressive and frightened states into
confident, joyful and insightful children. They have shown us
the true and clear potential that lies within all human beings
when the spirit is allowed to grow naturally.
The Children
From the beginning, both boys and girls
have lived at the House of Flowers, growing up together
naturally as brothers and sisters. We started with eight
children in 2002 and have grown gradually over the years, with
some children leaving when their families moved, and other
children joining us along the way. As of April 2006 there are 28
children living at the House of Flowers. Of these, eight are
girls and 20 are boys.
How old are the children?
Birthdays are not kept track of in
Afghanistan, so no one knows the exact ages of the children, but
our youngest children are Shukria and Amrullah , who are around
6 years old. Razia is the oldest; she is 13 – 14 years old.
About a third of the children are 8 years old or younger, and
the other children are generally around 10 years old.
Do the children have families?
Many of our children have one parent, since
in Afghanistan ‘orphan’ means one parent has died. Their
families are destitute, and there are a number that do not have
either parent, or the parent is incapacitated. But most of them
do have an extended family that they visit once every 2-3 weeks
over the weekend. This keeps the children grounded in their own
family ties as well as the rest of Afghan society, and it is
also an opportunity for us to maintain contact with the families
and help them when we can.
How did we find these children?
The children have come to us in a number of
ways. Some families heard about us by word of mouth. Some were
referred to us by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs or Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs. Some were sent to us by other agencies
such as the Red Cross, or from UNICEF staff.
What is the future of these children?
Many people ask about the future of the
House of Flowers and the children. Afghanistan is a very
unpredictable place, and the government is not always supportive
of the work of NGO’s such as ours. This makes it difficult to
specify a time frame or time-bound goals for the House of
Flowers. But MEPO is committed to running the House of Flowers
as long as we can, as long as there is money to keep it open and
the government permits us to stay open. In April of 2006 we
signed a new 4-year protocol with the Afghan government, so
hopefully the next four years are assured from the government’s
side.
The futures of the children are of course
hard to predict. Our hope is that those who can, will continue
to study through to University and hopefully, aided by the
strong inner foundation that they are building now in their
youngest years, will mature to become sources of strength and
guidance for their families, community and society. For those
who may not have university studies in their future, we plan to
begin helping them learn some vocational work such as carpentry,
etc.
The Children’s Education
Academic
Education
The children attend the neighborhood
schools but in the extremely weak educational system in
Afghanistan, children only attend school for 2 ½ hours a day up
to 7th grade. (The children from the House are
attending 1st through 5th grades this
year, 2006.) Thus, in order to provide the children of the House
of Flowers with a strong and balanced education, when they
return home from school they begin rich lessons and experiences
in health, geography, science, English, cultural subjects such
as calligraphy and poetry, and history. These are taught by our
two teachers every day. They use Montessori techniques, projects
and group work to teach the children and encourage the
children’s explorations.
The children of the House of Flowers are
very likely the only children in Afghanistan receiving this kind
of rich and varied education. In the government schools, until 4th
grade the students only study language, math and religion, and
these are in classrooms that often meet in a tent and have only
a chalkboard and not even benches. By contrast, the children of
the House of Flowers have naturally thrived in a safe
environment that provides stimulating activities and has
supplies such as a microscope, paint and crayons, educational
puzzles and Montessori teaching materials and dozens of books
(all donated by caring supporters).
Education for Life
But education is not limited to academics,
and the children are given opportunities to explore the inner
world as well as the outer. They receive religious education in
the tradition of Islam and Afghanistan, but have also learned
about other religions. They write poetry, being inspired by
great Persian poets such as Rumi and Hafiz. They have explored
drama, acting out stories from their books. Their exposure to
geography is very important in order to raise their awareness of
other countries and cultures and to help them gain a sense of
love and appreciation for all human beings. They have shown an
amazing understanding of the world and its inhabitants.
Financial education is also critical in a
place like Afghanistan where poverty is rampant (and these
children all come from impoverished homes). To this end, all the
children receive a weekly allowance to gain experience with
handling money responsibly. The children run a ‘central bank’ in
the house called “House of Flowers National Bank” where they can
deposit their money and make withdrawals. They also run a small
shop in the house where they buy and sell snacks, school
supplies and toys.
The House and the Staff
The House of Flowers is very fortunate to
have found a number of caring and dependable adults who have
dedicated themselves to the children. Eight adults run the House
of Flowers. These staff members are very caring individuals who
have built an environment where the children feel safe and
secure and protected. The staff genuinely enjoy the children,
and the House of Flowers is a place where laughter is heard
often and where adults listen carefully to children.
These
adults have expressed and shown how much they have learned about
new ways to work with children. In Afghanistan there are seen to
be few disciplinary alternatives to hitting children, but the
staff of the House of Flowers has learned the power of peaceful
discussion. It is also our hope that the staff has incorporated
this into their own homelives, and that their own children are
also benefiting indirectly from the House of Flowers.
One of the greatest qualities of the House
of Flowers is the love and respect that flourishes on all sides.
Perhaps one of the best examples of this is when the children
began teaching our cook, an illiterate woman of 40, how to read
for the first time in her life. They encouraged her in the same
ways they had been encouraged, telling her how smart she was,
and celebrating her new-found knowledge with her.
Running the House of Flowers and
How You Can Help
To provide 24-hour sheltering, feeding, clothing
and care for 28 children is a
challenging task, and in a place like Kabul it is even more so.
Right now, the financial challenge is our greatest. Expenses in
Kabul are extremely high, the economy having been skewed by the
heavy influx of development and aid money over the past 4 years.
Thus our expenses have nearly tripled since we first opened the
House of Flowers.
To date (April 2006) our annual expenses
are approaching $40,000 to cover all costs such as house rent,
staff salaries, food, house operation, educational supplies, and
clothing for the children. These costs are only met through
private donations. MEPO has no overhead costs, thus all
donations go directly to supporting the lives of the children at
the House of Flowers.
We hope that you too will help us in
serving these children.
How You Can Help
Contact Us
Meet the Children
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