Greetings!
Greetings from Montana,
The club decided to sponsor a family in Afghanistan through our family sponsorship program. The program began last November, after watching a CNN report of an Afghan family selling their young daughter to an elderly man for $2400. Conditions in Afghanistan are more desperate than ever before. Her father kept pushing her toward a waiting car, until the man grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. It was deeply troubling to watch.
As you know, donors have been sponsoring street children for over ten years through TIE with phenomenal success. I decided we would try to do the same for families. The sponsored families receive one hundred dollars per month for a year. One hundred dollars is enough to feed a family of four for a month. Nabi explained to me they eat rice with cheap vegetables and drink tea. Perhaps now they'll be able to add lamb occasionally.
This is a zero sum program for TIE. One hundred percent of what donors contribute go to sponsored families. Sponsors receive a photo every month of "their" family holding the $100 they received.
Below is the profile of Nematullah's family. written by our program director in Kabul. The club is sponsoring this family. They live in one room and pay 1500 Afghanis ($17.00) per month for rent.
The families provide a phone number in case their sponsor wants to call them. TIE will coordinate calls. Afghanistan is eleven hours and thirty minutes ahead of California.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Budd
