Back in Action

Hey Everyone!

We just wanted to send a quick note to let all of the supporters of the Orphanages here in Herat know that we were down for a while, but we are back up and running again. Thank-you so much for your continued support! We will be adding new pictures and sending out an email update to all that we have email addresses for. Also, we are planning on going to the Orphanages within the next week or so to deliever winter clothes, school supplies, medicine and make some much needed repairs.

Kitchen Overhaul

Hey Everyone,

We have just completed the overhaul of the kitchen. The old kitchen was pretty bad. The plumbing leaked. The floor was pretty nasty. We purchased dishwashing soap to ensure the dishes get clean and bleach for the floor. The 'stove' (resembles a metal end table with a big propane burner in the center) was replaced with a 'stove' with four burners resembling a metalic coffee table.




The shelves you see on the wall have no bottoms. We had those removed. Most of the shelves in the lower cabinents are broken. Note the black coming out doors under the sink. We had the plumber come out, take a look, and replace the plumbing.










Here is another shot of the kitchen cabinents.















Here is a photo of the cabinent maker's shop. He was generous enough to knock the price from $1100 to $700.















We put more cabinent space in order to get the pots off the ground.















Here is the new replacement cabinents with the new sink. The top is marble. Looks a little barren, but is more practical.











The total for the overhaul -

- $700 for new cabinents
- $100 for the new stove

Thanks for everyone's support and assistance.

Bless,
Brandon and Bill

New guy

Hello everyone !

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am Bill .
I will be helping Brandon with these's projects and
Eventually taking over ... But hopefully I still have him
for at least another month or so..

So we had to do a maintenance call at today. The Freezer stopped working ,
But luckily it was just the plug and was an easy fix.

But I mainly just wanted to make an appearance and introduction, and thank you all
for the package's, they go a long way.

Thank you for all your support to the kids.

Bill

Woodwork - Finished!

Hello All,

The woodwork was finished and it already adds so much to the rooms and their learning. Four blackboards were installed and four shelves for the classrooms.

Here's the carpenter's shop and his assistants.

Also, 18 large screens and 4 small screens for windows were installed to help keep flies out.

The carpenter even fixed some of the shoddy work done by the previous carpenter.

Note the guy on the end of the door. That's our electrical guy. He brought his tools to work on the exposed electrical wires in the girls' bedrooms.

Donations

Hello Everyone,

Communication is the key to a smooth running operation. I apologize about the delay in comms and have no excuses. Things have ramped up security-wise and we have been busier than usual. We did make a run to the orphanage on June 7th and 11th (sickness came back for a round two at the beginning of June). We brought over some of the great packages you all sent.

On the 7th something was going on so we dropped off the packages. Since the headmaster was not there, we did not have the opportunity to ask. Some girls could not come down to greet us. Others were gone. A very different vibe than what we were used to. We did mix the individually-packaged flavored power with bottle water and gave everyone one bottle. The kids were in awe as they watched the color fill the bottle. Everyone was happy to get their own bottle.

On the 11th the reception was much different and everyone was back to their usual selves. We brought in one of our electricians to look at the sockets (when I went in May, there were exposed wires and broken sockets), I assessed the woodwork that was done and we brought in a kitchen cabinent guy to provide pricing for the kitchen.

Thank you everyone for your donations. I received the following boxes:

Cassie Thompson and Alpha Delta Pi-Zeta Zeta - 8 boxes

Mark Miller - 1 box

Whitehills - 1 box

Mary Peterson - 1 box

Wayne Huddleson - 3 boxes

Bullochs - 2 boxes

Stacy Smalls - 1 box

Carol Ruth - 1 box

Carol Stolicny - 4 boxes

Kenco Engineering - multiple boxes

Webberts - 1 box

Heidi Blankenship - 1 box

Julienne Roberston - 1 box

My wife - 2 boxes

I also received money from the following:

Mr./Mrs. Schultz - $100

Ruth McKinney - $100

St. John United Methodist Church Augusta, GA - $400

I hope to contact each one of you individually to personally thank you. The money has been and is being used to improve on the current infrastructure to create a better standard of living for the kids.

Some of the things that we need-

tolietries

soap

shampoo (individual size)

femine hygiene products

kids vitamins

kids allergy medicine

cortizone/skin itch cream

headscarves for the girls

ideas for storage for the girls in their bedrooms (something light, compact, foldable, a couple of drawers/shelves - right now, i am leaning to unders the bed tupperware)

money donation for infrastructure projects and local products(to date we have spent over $1000)

pens

Things we will buy here (cheaper, good quality):

- poetry books (in Farsi)

- notebooks

- extension cords

- rugs

- washing powder

- dish washing soap

- dishes

Other projects that we are working on/have been requested-

vehicle for transportation

phone (since a landline is not an option in this building

food (Meat products)

convert two bathrooms stalls indoors to shower stalls.

Thanks again everyone.

Recent Injury - Update

Sorry folks for the recent inactivity. Many of us got hit with a stomach bug, but are all better now. Due to the bug, we have delayed our visit to the orphanage until all participants are 100 percent healthy.

We did get to take the groundskeeper to the doc. The doc treated the groundskeeper and gave him pain medicine to take as needed. After the doc's visit, the groundskeeper flexed saying he felt young again. What an awesome spirit!

Recent Injury

This evening some of our guys went to the girls' orphanage to treat the groundskeeper for a injury as a result of a motorcycle accidents. Two-wheel modes of transportation are prevalent throughout the city. So are accidents. The groundskeeper, an older gentleman, had multiple contusions and was suffering from injuries outside of the skill level of our medic. We were able to provide pain medications to ease his suffering and will transport him to the hospital tomorrow. His spirits are high in spite of his injuries. Previously, he has survived multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head that leaves him blind in one eye.

Plumbing Project Final

Well, we had The Plumber look into the four clogged stalls. He brought over an air compressor to see if it was an easy fix or required more attention. Because of his honesty, hard work, and good business ethics, we asked him to do what it takes and let us know how much it costs. After not being satisfied the first time or the second time with the carpenter who did the screen doors (had to make him do the work over three times), my trustworthiness in local businessmen is limited to sample work and partial payment until completed.

The Plumber had to break up the concrete in several places, replace the piping, and relay the concrete. He did a great job and now the kids have a working bathroom again. The Plumber charged us $50 for the entire job! donating much of his time to the orphanage pro bono.

The entire plumbing upgrade costs us: $550.

Next Project - Woodwork. Since we had the screen doors installed, most of the flies have been kept out. However, by just opening the windows, flies begin to buzz around everything, especially the fan. Our next project will focus in on screens for the windows (16 large windows, 4 small) and classroom upgrades - 4 blackboards and 4 bookshelves. We have sought out a new carpenter. The total estimate cost is 23,200 Afghanis (equivalent to $465). We will pay $260 upfront and the rest on satisfactory completion. Work starts tomorrow.

Plumbing Project II

Here are the bathrooms that were originally built. A great job - with plumbing and electricity. Water is fed into the bathrooms by a submersible pump. The headmaster is very leery about leaving the pump on for any considerable length in time due to wear and tear on the pump. By putting a cistern on top, the kids will have water on demand.

Here is the water tank after we loaded it on a motorcycle-drawn tuk tuk. The tank was about $180. The tuk tuk driver delivered the tank, helped lift it onto the roof, went and got some cinder blocks and returned, and help put those on the roof (about two hours of his time) for $10. That's a good day's pay for him and great assistance for us.

We just finished getting the tank on the roof. Whew! Two ropes, five guys and manual labor.

Here are the guys breaking up the concrete next to the pipe. The man in the olive drab pants is known as The Plumber. He does good work. Sorry about the pic. It doesn't seem to want to turn.

Here's the finished product complete with insulation for the cold winters. This set up allows the kids to have that on-demand water for the bathroom's that we mentioned earlier.

Unfortunately, the sewage is backed up in four of the bathrooms. We are having The Plumber take a look at this afternoon and let us know what needs to be done to fix it. Mind you, these bathrooms don't have toilet bowls, but a hole in the floor surrounded by ceramic for feet grip and ascetics. Not sure how the kids even clean themsleves afterwards except to rinse with the hose. We will have a heart to heart with the headmaster.

I can't express this enough - Your help goes a long way to changing lives. From all of us, thank you.

Plumbing Project

With the onset of warm weather our biggest concern has been basic hygiene and vectors (flies and mosquitos). The Headmaster had asked us for a water tank to put on top of the bathrooms to have gravity fed water to flow into the eight bathrroms they have. We were able to fulfill that wish with some local donations. Our expenses were as follows -
- plumbing fixtures and piping $220
- 400-liter (100 gallon) metal water tank $180
- Labor $100

Some of the next projects we anticipate are -
- screen windows $200
- bookshelves $300
- blackboard $300
- kitchen remodel $1200


Many people have asked about sending mony, For donations to any of the projects, we can now accept Paypal to heratorphanage@gmail.com.

Pictures on this latest project soon to be published.

Running an Orphanage

On 8 May 09 I had a sit down with the headmaster at the orphanage and asked her what did it take to operate the girl's orphanage. Here is a list of items provided to the orphanage by the government (items in bulk per month) -
- 600 lbs. of rice
- 18 2-gallon containers of vegetable oil
- 100 lbs. of beans
- 100 lbs of peas
- 100 lbs of tomato paste
- 100 lbs of lentils
- 100 lbs of another green grain
- 100 lbs of sugar
- 10 lbs of green tea
- 10 lbs of dry milk
- 100 eggs per day
- 15 bottles of propane for kitchen fuel
- 120 lbs. of meat (meat is eaten twice a week)

Meat runs out quickly. The government also pays for the electricity. There is a paid staff onsite. Keep in mind the average day laborer get about 120 dollars a month. The orphanage has the following staff (to include monthly salary) -
- (1) Headmaster $68/month
- (5) Teachers $68/month
- (3) Kitchen staff $56/month
- (1) Groundskeeper $56/month

Among our discussion, we brought up the fact that we will provide repairs and items to enhance the standard of living, but we will not provide money to the school. The biggest fear is while things are good with us helping out, our fix is temporary. We, the Americans, will leave and if the government cuts funds because we have helped them by giving money, the orphanage will be worse off after we are gone. Timely, we had a fortuitous meet with one Mr. Abdul Azim Akid. Mr. Akid takes inventory of the items in the orphanage to ensure that the items that are being given are getting to the kids.

Life is hard all around Afghanistan. People will take from the orphans. Our somewhat frequent visits and, now, meeting Mr. Akid allows us to keep an eye on the items you send that help the kids to a better today and a brighter tomorrow.

First of May

First and foremost, thank you to everyone that has and is sendng boxes and money. Every little bit helps. For those that can't give right now, please visit often and include the kids in your prayers. Another good day in Afghanistan. We stopped by the orphanage to inspect the new screen doors, drop off the goodies, and talk with the kids.

Some people have asked about a blog for the boy's orphanage. I will have that up in a couple of weeks. We are focusing on the girls' right now. Orphanages here in Afghanistan are like the schools, they are segregated. The schools become co-ed at the university level. Unfortunately, like the schools, the girls receive less funding.

Today, we inspected the new screen doors. The two entrance doors looked very nice. It will go a long way to keeping the flies out. Unfortunately, the screen doors to the kitchen, dining room and main office were not fitted properly. Also, there are no screens on the windows. Flies seemed to run rampant throughout the kitchen and dining room. We will have the carpenters go back to fix the doors and make screens for the windows.






Here is the front door.






We were also able to deliver conditioner, medicine, a couple books, snacks, toys, school supplies and some candy.




Here, a couple of the girls that can write are helping re-label the childrens' medicine. We also need chewable vitamins. The children do not get their daily nutrition. Vitamins will go a long way as preventative medicine.

Friday is the day off. Some of the kids were gone today. Here is a good snapshot of the kids that were there and two of the guys. See the smiling faces. Stay tuned for more news.

For more Pics of this last trip click on the pic below

Girl's Herat Orphanage

Girl's Orphanage

The girl's orphanage in Herat, Afghanistan supports the local community of orphans with housing, food, bathing and schooling. The teachers are volunteers in the community trying to give the girls an opportunity they would not have living on the street.

The orphanage is 3 stories tall and houses 20 - 110 girls depending on the time of year. These girls come from various types of situation. One girl, 13 years old, was wedded to a 70 plus year old man. She ran away and ended up at the orphanage. Another girl lost both her parents. One girl has a family, but they are unable to care and feed her so she lives at the orphanage. She gets to see her family on Fridays (Friday is the official day off in Afghanistan). The orphanage has four classrooms and an outbuilding with eight bathrooms.

We recently visited the orphanage to ask the headmaster what she needed. The following list is what came of the meeting -
- OTC medicine
- screen doors
- water tank for the bathrooms
- carpet
- light bulbs
- clothing
- sandals
- gravel
- fans
- blankets
- large pots
- electric teapots
- cups
- school stuff
- chains for swings
- money for gas (to cook the food)
- toys
- books
- cabinents

Well, the list goes on a little further. Everything you need to raise a bunch of kids and school them. Plus repairing what they have.

Recently, we were able to purchase the following:
- 36 sets of silverware
- 4 antennas for TV
- 20 meters of waterproof cloth for a tablecloth
- soap
- teapots
- a large pot for cooking rice
- 15 pairs of sandals
- lightbulbs
- 45 kg of lamb
- vegetables
- 200 pads of paper and pencils

The projects we are/will be engaged in:
- Installing screen doors - Anticipate finish on May 2
- Refurbishing 40 chairs
- Fixing the plumbing for the bathroom
- Carpeting the office and the clasrooms
- Fixing the kitchen shelves
- Fixing the playground
- Outfitting the classrooms

We will dedicate a 10-day to each project based off our funds. I have pictures of the orphanage on Picasa. Please stop by and take a look at the pictures. The kids are always smiling and laughing. It is a blessing that we get to visit them everyday.

For photos go to (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/HeratOrphanage/GirlSOrphanage?feat=directlink)

Thank you one and all for your donations. They go a long way both in immediately providing necessities for the kids and in also knowing that people do care.

Our address is:

Commander - Orphans
ARSIC-West/DOD
Herat
APO, AE 09354

God bless!