Bagrami Mother’s Empowered by Mushroom Cultivation
“In Bagrami there lives a 3-year old boy called Karim. He has nine brothers and sisters between two and twelve years old. He and three of his other siblings have poor vision. His father is disabled and earns up to $2 a day. The family eats just once a day – usually dry food such as bread or rice, and never meat or vegetables.”
This heart breaking story came to us in a recent report directly from one of Global Hope Network International’s Transformational Community Development trainers living in Afghanistan. Fortunately, a solution is beginning to bear fruit! GHNI leaders work with a local Champion in Transformational Community Development (TCD) to generate Food and Income for these families using local resources.
The GHNI Afghanistan team reports:
At the request of the District Agricultural Office, the first women’s mushroom cooperative has begun in the village of Bagrami. A local young lady from the area is overseeing several other women in the co-op. These women do not have their own space to grow mushrooms, so together they share the responsibility of growing and taking care of the mushrooms in one house. This is a great solution for families who lack even a room to grow mushrooms.
The women have been through various types of training in the past – how to use dehydrators for herbs and vegetables, advice on cultivating gardens, and felting. In October, Eklil took the first quantity of mushroom spawn to the women’s co-op and spent time teaching them how to prepare and grow the mushrooms. Eight weeks later, the first mushrooms are beginning to appear!
We are already seeing how this cooperative is beginning to transform lives!
Karim’s mother has recently become a member of the Bagrami Women’s Cooperative. Lacking even a spare room for growing mushrooms in their 2-room mud house, they were unable to become independent mushroom growers. We were really excited to be able to offer her the opportunity to work together with other women from her community to grow mushrooms and provide extra food or earn extra income for her family.
Hidden and Hurting in Afghanistan
Karim now has a chance to grow into a healthy strong boy. His mother now has dignity and is appreciated as she helps the family through her work.
Many of these small villages in Afghanistan are Hidden and Hurting, just like the village of Bagrami. Would you consider joining GHNI’s efforts to bring Help and Hope to children like 3-year old Karim?
