SUCCESS!! 31 people made the top of the Last Munro on 29th August. And an offline donation of $2,000 took us over the £20,000 target at the dinner afterwards. A picture of us on the summit is on this page. A fantastic result.
A beautiful carpet with many mountain tops embroidered on it was presented by Chris Beales at the dinner to Susan and me - and I have accepted on behalf of all the donors. A wonderful gift.
Chris founded this extraordinary charity, which operates in the craft skills field. I was in Kabul in May where I visited them to see them "in action". Details are on the Afghan Action website http://www.afghanaction.com/. I hope after reading about Afghan Action that you will wish to support their work.
I feel a strong connection with Afghanistan 1) because I last went there in 1968 (on a motorcycle) and loved it and 2) because my grandfather Evelyn Howell also loved the people of that nation. During the 1920s, he was responsible for the NW Frontier Province (including Waziristan, now Taliban country). He was a fluent Pashto speaker and after his retirement from India translated the poems of Khushal Khan Khatak into English - and thence into Latin!
I have now finished my Munros (Scottish hills over 3,000 ft). I started this campaign in October 2009 when I had climbed 258 and there were 25 left to go. I used this as a reason to raise funds for Afghan Action, and climbed the last one, Beinn Achaladair, on 29th August 2010 starting at 10 am. 43 people came, 38 people walked and 31 made it to the top!
People have been extremely generous. It is humbling that friends and supporters can be so open-handed and open-hearted and we have now made the new £20,000 target, even before some pledges have been quantified. This website is open for donations until end October.
Please note - if you are a US Taxpayer, contact me on mwdhowell@aol.com and I can arrange for you to receive a tax deduction via another donation route.
The story of the charity is visible on the website, and summarised below, and they have established a series of giving thresholds that relate directly to the work of the charity. Susan and I contributed a modest £360 and in due course received a charming Afghan workpiece (a small rug) from the student that we sponsored. You too can do that!
Chris Beales who founded the charity is an Anglican minister from Bedfordshire, in . Afghan Action is a training establishment in for carpet weavers, and is a subsidiary of the Foundation. Chris is inspiring by his effort and his humanity. He asks me to point out that he does not proselytise in , and does not use his title (Revd) in relation to Afghan Action's work. Chris has consistently worked with people of all faiths over many years, looking for common ground and believes the best approach to co-existence is doing things together - which creates friendships, upon which true dialogue can happen. Chris set up the UK Government's Inner Cities Religious Council in 1992, from which all governmental cross-faith work began. He has many Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish friends.
Chris summarises that his real needs are as follows:
* sponsorship of trainees
* support for the teacher and the nurse
* support for "graduates" to become self employed or form their own carpet businesses
* a growing need for IT training (equipment, teachers etc)
* support for promoting the work outside
Here are some other comments from Chris - I have added the giving opportunities - so take your pick!:
"Teacher and nurse are invaluable members of the team and we need to ensure we can pay for them. We are just starting an IT training programme shortly so will expand the teaching capacity. 1 week = £25 (£1 per Munro); 2 weeks = £50 (£2 per Munro); 1 month = £150 (£6 per Munro); 1 quarter = £400 (£16 per Munro); 1 year = £1600 (£64 per Munro).
"Sheep - we would like to have our own flock, probably looked after by the Kuchis (nomads) in , south of . Then we can provide the good quality Ghazni sheep's wool we need. Wool sold in the markets can vary in quality and some wool is now being mixed with plastic, thus rendering it useless as the plastic can't be dyed. 1 sheep = £100 (£4 per Munro).
"Trainees do a 6 month training programme (and we now have food and medicine provided by companies based there). We have the promise of lots of food now, so can increase numbers. £360 (£14.40 per Munro) just about covers their allowance and the additional costs (overheads, rent, fuel etc; teachers/trainers; materials etc). Apply to Chris for the possible gift of a small rug made by your sponsored trainee.
"There is a new programme to set "graduate" trainees up in business. The IT training and development becomes a larger part of what we want to offer and new funding could make a significant difference here. 1 computer + accessories and software = £400 (£16 per Munro)."
Chris invites you to contact him for more details on chrisbeales@afghanaction.com or +44 7957 135593.
It is up to you what you can afford. I hope, now that the end of my quest is here, you will still wish to donate!
