Afstan: Something the CBC documentary missed

Further to this post, a bit of "hope" that only the Montreal Gazette of the Canwest papers seems to have carried (I found the story through this Afghan media site's daily e-mail):

It still is, as Col. Donald Dixon describes it, "a very, very humble" dwelling, in one of the poorest parts of war-torn Kabul.

The first time he walked into the Mirmon orphanage in 2006, the conditions were sobering. "It was a cement, two-storey house. It was a hollowed-out building on two floors. And it was bare. There was no indoor plumbing. No kitchen facilities to speak of. The walls were cracked, and peeling. The windows were bare."

By the time his tour of duty with the Canadian Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) ended in the fall of 2007, conditions had brightened considerably.

"They were our family. We really adopted those girls," Dixon says.

So have subsequent SAT units who are continuing a uniquely Canadian volunteer legacy.

Up to 30 girls, from babies to teens live at the orphanage in the heart of this city of five million. "Their parents have died, or been killed. Or the girls were abandoned," he says.

The SAT consists of about 15 Canadian Forces soldiers and civilians who advise the Afghan government on developing effective and efficient government. But Dixon says, "it's more than just helping the government structure. It's also about helping people on the street."..

Lt.-Cmdr. Albert Wong, who began this grassroots cause on his first SAT tour to Afghanistan in 2005, said: "The thing about helping in Afghanistan is a small amount goes a long way.

"When we first went to see them in the fall of '05, it was a very chilly day, that day. I mean I had my winter coat on, my scarf and hat and gloves. It was really nice to see the girls. It was a real joy. But then we noticed in their bedrooms, which were in the basement, they had no heat. So between 15 of us, we raised enough to buy them three separate wood heaters that we had installed. They basically had one wood-burning heater for the whole house. We bought them three additional ones and fuel for the winter."

Wong said the stoves cost a total of about $250. The fuel cost about $100.

"The reason we picked them up was because it was a small orphanage for girls. The larger orphanages, other (non-government organizations) and foreign governments are looking after and helping. This one is small enough to fall below the radar," Wong says.

But he says, that commitment has to be practical and sustainable.

"So we didn't just flood them with money but we actually looked at what the needs were and bought according to the needs."..

Wong has returned to Toronto, but he says he keeps in touch with the orphanage.

"It's a team effort. I was in the first SAT rotation and what's gratifying is that each rotation subsequent to that has taken this on," he says.

"We have a track record, we have a history and when you meet the girls you just don't want to abandon them . . . I also personally believe that while the future of Afghanistan is still on the line, the only way forward is this generation of kids. And especially the girl child because if you can educate that girl child, the impact of when that child grows up and becomes a mother, is huge. When someone is educated, it's impossible to take that away from her."