A box contains enough rice to provide 216 meals. With an average family size of 8, that's 10,560 people who will be impacted and 285,000 meals overall. When completed, this will bring our total to over 1.5 million meals provided over the past couple of years.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                      
How important is this? I've written before and am again for the new subscribers to this newsletter. An Afghan father living in a refugee camp said; "There are days when I must chose between buying food or firewood for my family. When that happens, I buy firewood. You can live longer without food".

American soldiers are just as passionate as we are about helping Afghan families.

Several days before the shipment arrived there was a terrorist attack on the road to and near Bagram.  Pen Farthing, founder of NOWZAD , the organization that rescues animals and reunites soldiers with the dogs they've adopted while serving in Afghanistan, offered to accompany Basir and to arrange for an armed escort. Before arrangements for an escort could be made, Basir picked up the shipment. 

All roads to and from Bagram have several check points. When returning from Bagram, Basir must pay Baksheesh (a bribe) to get past some. There is always the concern that our shipments will be confiscated. But, so far, Baksheesh has paved the way. Basir must argue over how much he must pay with men holding guns.  Basir is very effective though. I've been present when he's had to negotiate with  Afghan police and soldiers monitoring the roads.

Basir and Qudsia, his wife, at our request, joined a rotary club in Kabul. The most recent meeting was cancelled. A guest house located next to the restaurant where the rotary club's meetings were held, was attacked by a suicide bomber. Two people were killed and several injured. Basir, Qudsia and everyone living in Kabul, lives with the knowledge that the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is always present. That's been true since the Russian invasion in 1979, thirty six years ago.

That's the latest TIE news from Kabul. TIE news from Kabul  elicits two emotions.  First, I'm reminded of how fortunate I am. Birth determines which children begin their lives in a refugee camp, something over which children have no control. I started out in Pocatello, Idaho and have never been without food, clothing, shelter and good fortune. The second emotion is the joy that comes from knowing we are making a difference in the lives of thousands.

                                         
Photos like the ones recently taken and included in this newsletter, make my day and will likely do the same for TIE's supporters. I'm passing them on. Please do the same for friends who might be interested in joining us. It takes more than a village to address the needs of half the world's population, who are surviving on less than $2.50 a day. We can't solve all  problems. We can take on and solve some.

Happy New Year