The Foundation's Blog
Here, John Norgrove writes a regular blog about the development of the Foundation and its work, shedding light on the story behind the headlines.
In our Afghanistan blogs, Margaret Orwig, who has lived there for several years and is working for the Foundation on a voluntary basis, writes about both the experience of living in Kabul and the difference your donations are making to the lives of ordinary Afghans.
In previous blogs, Marianne Parente writes about some of the projects that she helped the Foundation to identify and implement.
These blogs direct from Afghanistan give real insight into the people and organisations that you are helping to support.
Also, invited guests talk about their involvement with the foundation - read our guest blogs.
John's Blog
Looking for a model charity to follow
By John Norgrove
7 May 2013
“We had to face the fact that our overhead costs were rising and becoming too high as a percentage of income.”
Don’t ask us to focus only on the desperate situations
By John Norgrove
25 March 2013
“Playing or listening to music, joining or watching a children’s circus, reading – you only have to see how Afghan kids jump at the chance to take part in these to realise how important the arts are in life”
Making sense of the larger picture
By John Norgrove
30 September 2012
“We have no alternative than to live on the scale immediately apparent but surely knowledge of the other should humble us”
We tend to blame those above rather than helping those below
By John Norgrove
9 July 2012
” A desperate war where sadists become powerful and cruelty is returned magnified. The question for us is whether we can help these women.”
From lunchtime circus school meals to emergency blankets
By John Norgrove
11 March 2012
One of the best things about running a small charity is that we can make quick decisions about what to fund and what to pass by.
Afghanistan can ambush you
By John Norgrove
21 November 2011
“Fund raising events have been the major focus and we’ve been successful for a new charity – only because we’ve received so much support from all quarters.”
Dying for an education
By John Norgrove
31 May 2011
“Guys such as Khan Mohammed are the heroes of this story. Linda always said that aid workers were there because they wanted to be and could leave.”
No plateaus, just the uphill
By John Norgrove
25 April 2011
“We can so easily focus on the task or the material possession in front of us at the time, thinking that this will make life easier..it doesn’t happen.”
Caught out by the small things
By John Norgrove
20 March 2011
“We kid ourselves that we’re planning the road ahead, but all of the big things in my life have come totally out of the blue.”
Dealing with errors of judgement
By John Norgrove
23 February 2011
“I didn’t and don’t blame the soldier who threw the grenade - how can I possibly ‘blame’ someone in that situation from my office desk?”
Trauma, support, empathy and guilt
By John Norgrove
11 February 2011
“The most significant aspect is that we both felt more empathy with others who are suffering - and that’s one of the main reasons for starting this charity”
Afghanistan blog
Sleepless in Kabul
By Margaret Orwig
10 May 2012
“The second thing I thought about was these children - what do children who grow up in the midst of battles think? What it must be like to have such memories, to grow up amidst such violence and uncertainty?”
Can a person survive without literacy?
By Marianne Parente
16 August 2011
Read how women and children in remote villages are set to benefit from literacy classes that you have helped to fund with your donations.
Joy at last for some very special children
By Marianne Parente
3 July 2011
“What heaven, to rest their bodies on a real spring mattress. What excitement, to handle brightly coloured toys that have buttons to push that make music.”
Pushing to overcome obstacles
By Marianne Parente
7 June 2011
“Bread ovens – it all seemed so simple when we first talked about it. I envisioned a community effort with the women having their bread for free and selling bread to the community to cover their costs.”
Meeting the widows and orphans of Jalalabad
By Marianne Parente
14 March 2011
“They want to sew, to knit, to spin wool, to bake bread. Some want to learn to read, one young girl dreams of becoming a midwife. With your help, we will make something good happen here.”
From the easy life to Afghanistan
By Marianne Parente
7 March 2011
“I know there are plenty of people out there trying to fix the big picture but I have always liked small projects that directly fix problems in people’s lives.”