Chandaawal Water Project, Kabul Afghanistan

In December of 2004, I had the good fortune of meeting three orphan girls on my way up the slops of Chandaawal, on the outskirts of Kabul. These three children were between the ages of seven and nine; children of a  man executed by the Talibaan in Mazaar Shareef. Bibi Fatema, Bibi Zainab and Bibi Sakina fled to Kabul with their mother and ended up with a distant relative who was a widow herself with five mouths to feed. The girl's mother, out of hunger or heartbreak or both, died within three months of her move to Chandaawal so the girls ended up with this relative. The relative had these girls fetch water from Kabul proper and lug it up to where they had a hovel; a chore they had to perform three, sometimes four times a day, a task I completed in forty five minutes without a load to carry. Then, I was heartbroken at their plight, their destitution and was willing to do anything that would bring some joy to their miserable lives. I offered them food, thinking they must be hungry, offered them clothes, for it was brutally cold that had me shivering in my very warm clothes and they had the flimsiest of rags, offered to send them to school, for surely that would be appreciated. No, they had said, no Aaghaa, we want water. Water, you see, is at a premium in Chandaawal for there is none in the steep mountainside.

So I had made a promise to Bibi Fatema, Bibi Zainab abd Bibi Sakina, a promise to get them water so they would not have to trek up and down for it; a promise that, with your very generous support, is now almost ready to be realized. Although the task of raising USD320,000 was no cakewalk and kept me up worrying more than a few nights, I need not have worried too much; Alhamd'Allah, CAI has been blessed with blemish free hearts of donors who step up and bat for the pleasure of Allah (S). Work is at full speed and nearing completion and with your prayers, will commission the project when we are in Kabul April 23, Insha'Allah. Here are few photos of WIP:

Al Zahra Girls Home, Kargil, Indian Kashmir

Some of you might remember Al Zahra Girls Home that CAI had constructed some four years ago. Alhamd'Allah, the orphan girls are all doing very well and their education is progressing satisfactorily. Due to the severe cold and snow that Kargil goes through every winter, it has become necessary to fortify the roof structure of the orphanage. We had taken an easy route at the time of construction and not fortified it then due to funding issues. Well, we are forced to do this now and spend about USD20,000 for the entire project. I want to appeal for your generous support for this very important project. Here are a few photos of the orphanage and the work that needs to be done for the roof.

Mass Marriages In YawKawlang, Afganistan, May 01 2009

Fifty very poor couples will, insha'Allah, tie the knot on the birthday of Syeeda Zainab (A) in YawKawlang, sponsored by donors of CAI. We already have funds for 36 of these couples and need USD7,000 to complete the group. Please realize that these couples will have very little chance to complete the marriage rites without the support we are providing and so is a very worthy cause. Please support them if you possibly can; a couple gets USD500 worth of home starter kit and a mass waleema. Please support a couple or two. The starter kit is made up of:

• Kitchen essentials: Stove set of china and utensils, pots and pans, kettle, three pails for water storage.
• Bed, mattress and almirah.

List of YawKawlang Mass Marriage Couples

Water, water, water ...

Please study this appeal for water below; self explanatory. Please help if you can. Please understand that water is a huge issue and a ne'mat for those that have it and a calamity for those that struggle for it. And so it is everywhere in northern Afghanistan where it is scarce, making life miserable and a challenge even for those that are remotely well to do. For the poor, it is a calamity of major proportions. I have seen the misery these people go through every day so I appeal to you in the name of Imam Hussein (A) and his family (A), to please help us get them pure drinking water if you can.

Jazaak'Allah and Allah (S) Bless.

Yusuf Yusufali