MK

My Canadian friend, Mary Kate, is now working in Afghanistan for World Vision. She recently wrote a long letter to several of her friends. Here is a short excerpt:

"I can't begin to explain this place to myself or others. I realized immediately the learning curve would be sharp... like straight up. I've never known anything like this. How to begin to explain the vast and complicated landscape that is Afghanistan... I'm working in four separate regions, with programs in three different sectors (food security, health, and education). Some areas are worse off than others. Jawand, in particular, is something startling... spectacular, in its beauty, in its people, and in the sheer space of history that has passed without any change. Issues of education, health and food security are severe. A year ago, following consecutive years of drought, there were instances of farmers selling their daughters in order to feed the rest of the family. In one area, a number of villages have been wiped out by tuberculosis. One out of four children dies before the age of five. Infant mortality is among the highest in the world, at the same level as subsaharan Africa. Babies are dying of diarrhea and cholera. Preventable disease. That's the painful part. None of this is necessary. Yet I wake in any small village and see families collecting water from a catchment used by animals. We will later drink the same water in our tea."