The world we live in today is filled with tension, war and corruption. The world we live in today is empty of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Dr. Albert Schweitzer and Dr. Martin Luther King.

Thus, there is a greater responsibility on our shoulders to fix things and spread the word and act of peace. This leadership is the responsibility of peace keepers: ordinary people who care and thoughtful men and women. The politicians have failed badly and have gone bankrupt with peaceful solutions. Thus, leadership is and should be ours if we want peace in the world.

In Paris, in August of 1928 following the trauma of the First World War, fifteen nations signed a peace pact renouncing their right to wage war. This was an "awakening of a great hope" that abolished war. We should think of creating ministries of peace in all countries instead of ministries of war or defense, and spreading the seed of love.

What happened to that pact and the commitment of those fifteen nations, who for the first time in history, chose to liquidate wars before they were declared? This kind of pact could be signed again if only military cartels and corporate industries as well as opportunistic politicians allow it. People must file petitions to demand war to become universally illegal and eventually abolished.

Through the actions of peace and moral actions, refusing to succumb to the temptation of resorting to easy violent actions, many great evils in the world have been overcome. From the 1920s through the 1940s, Gandhi fasted, boycotted many products made by Britain and maintained his leadership of civil disobedience in order to defeat the evil empire morally, and was joined by thousands of Indians who upheld non-violence as the path of peaceful revolution.

In 1955, Ms. Rosa Parks, a Negro woman in Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in a public bus during segregation and the dark and shameful era of discrimination. This act gave rise to a boycott movement by the Negroes in the U.S., whose leader became Dr. Martin Luther King. The laws of segregation were defeated and abolished. Civil rights were established because of the human will and a peaceful approach led by Dr. King and followed through by thousands of black Americans. Otherwise, through violence, Negroes would have been annihilated in that country. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 What has happened to the peaceful minds and peace keepers? 

 Militaries are made up billions of dollars of sophisticated weapons and tremendous amounts of human labor for one purpose: to wage war! We have to think - we need no money, no weapons, no armies and no fighter jets to declare peace. All we need is a decision and the will and wisdom to pursue it - it doesn't cost anything. Peace is by far a cheaper commodity. Dignity, growth, love, security and longevity are the fruits of peace as opposed to the painful destruction of the human condition inevitably caused by violence and war.

By boycotting a great many unnecessary consumer products, fasting both in food intake and idle desires, and pursuing charity and social work people can undertake changes in their lives that are still strong methods to contribute to and bring about peace in society as well as in one's individual life. Boycott by people is a powerful counterbalance against threats and humiliation by warmongering governments, militaries and companies supporting diabolic politics. Fasting is a means to regain an inner strength and overcome our own weaknesses. Charity and social work are to strengthen the weak, poor and needy people of the world; the victims of injustice.

Disarmament and elimination of the Weapons of Mass Destruction are wonderful ideas for our planet and its natural life, but it should be started worldwide and particularly in and from the Western countries, and their manufacturing companies have to be dismantled and eliminated. We should look at the cause and not so much at the effect. "The greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil that Dickens loved to paint but is conceived and ordered in clear, carpeted, warmed, well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." C.S. Lewis

Let us invite ourselves to a soul reunion for peace. Let us not try to escape or forget our irrefutable bonds with one another; let us not want anything except what brings loving hearts and peaceful spirits. Let us celebrate the ever-presence of the spirits of Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Dr. Schweitzer and Dr. King in our world. Let us enjoy their teachings and keep their legends alive. Let us not distract ourselves. Let us do what we are here for!  

Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being.
--Mahatma Gandhi 1948

Since fall of 2002, MEPO and the clinic staff have maintained workshops and health educations for pregnant women from the area

* In May 2003 the clinic was the site for a week-long intensive training for local health workers (doctors, nurses, etc.) conducted by MEPOs doctor, providing crucial medical information in areas such as nutrition, history-taking, first aid, preventive medicine, etc. A small medical kit of basic equipment was also given to each participant at the end of the training.|

* During the summer and fall months of 2003, the clinic midwife and pediatrician offered several week-long pre-natal/pregnancy training classes for the pregnant patients of the clinic. Most deliveries in Afghanistan take place at home, and only occasionally is a midwife present. So each pregnant woman was provided with a pregnancy kit at the end of each training in order to have clean and appropriate supplies for her to use at the time of her babys birth. Since maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan is among the highest in the world, these classes have long waiting lists of women eager to learn how to prevent tragedy.

* A six-month literacy class was offered for women, held at the clinic daily for 1-2 hours. This opportunity for women to enter into the world of the written word was amazing in its empowerment of the women who attended. Many of the women struggled, overcoming resistance by family members and heavy workloads at home to attend the class every day and learn to read and write and do math. Many of the women cried at the end of the class, emotional and grateful to their teacher for what she had taught them.

* The clinic works with the Ministry of Health to provide vaccinations to children and women, such as measles and tetanus as well as polio. This is a crucial service that is vastly underprovided in Afghanistan, where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children daily annually of measles and tetanus transmitted to babies at birth. This is a major public health problem.

Besides the Kabul MCH clinic, MEPO continues to support the one other MCH clinic that it established in 2001 in remote area of eastern Afghanistan:

In May 2001, MEPO sponsored and established two MCH centers in a province of southeast Afghanistan, namely Nangrahar. The two MCH centers carried the names Iman ("Faith") and Solh ("Peace"), offering vital services to deprived populations. (Since April 2003, we have suspended Solh clinic due to the presence of other health facilities in the area.)

Iman and Solh MCH centers have provided essentially free health services for women and children, which includes free checkup by a doctor, lab tests, and free vitamins and medicines. Iman Clinic, in a remote area is fully functional.

In September 2002, after overcoming many bureaucratic hurdles, MEPO succeeded in establishing a small orphanage for deprived children in Kabul. This cozy orphanage is in a large house where a staff of eight provides up to sixteen children ages 3 to 9 with 24-hour housing, food, education, recreation and medical care. All of the children have lost one or both parents and come from extremely deprived backgrounds. When they first came to the orphanage, they were shy, thin, pale, malnourished, and had worms and other illnesses. None had attended any school, and some had difficulties communicating and interacting with others. The drastic change took place when we introduced our Montessori style of education. The focus was not only to make them literate so that they could read and write but to make them aware of their strong bondage with Planet Earth and Humanity on a large scale.

We marvel at the changes seen in them after they had been at the orphanage for just a few weeks. After their illnesses were treated and they were provided with three simple healthy meals and two snacks a day, regular baths, and safe, clean and warm places to play and sleep, these children became bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked, energetic and confident. Nothing fancy, nothing exotic, no special techniques, simply a safe and loving environment. After more than a year and half these children have become skillful and psychologically balanced.

In response to this need, MEPO arranged for the construction of 3 pump wells to serve the neighborhoods. Just in time for the hottest weather of summer, people now have ready access to vital water.

From March 2003 to March 2004,
(2003-2004) Projected Cost for One Year