Bpeace in Afghanistan (Again)

Girls enjoy the nice April weather and play outside in the sunshine at

Habiba surveys the land she bought to build her new child care center on

Habiba and her husband have bought a plot of land to build her dream day-care center, and her husband, who is an engineer, drew up blueprints. But she needs to raise the money for construction and actually build it—her dream could be two years away. We urged her to find a new rental, outfit it properly and plan to spend two years there until her new facility is build.

We worked on a budget for the rental, including start-up costs (about $8,000) and monthly running costs (About $1,600). We promised that Bpeace would cost-share with both the first year.

Currently, Habiba is collecting $6/month for 40 kids. She did a market survey (really excellent research, she and her husband did it) and found that if she raised her fees to $16/month, she would lose only 25% of her clients, and there is a waiting list anyway. We suggested that when she moves to the new facility, that she charges the old clients $16 and new clients $20. With these fees we think she could break even in a year with 80 children.

Habiba’s mentors in the US—Jessica Powell and Janine Marks—sent along various items including photos and a DVD of Janie’s Long Island day-care center. Habiba’s son looked at the photos with the large plastic outdoor toys and slides, and the sand pit, and said, “That is what we want to do.” With Janine’s security concerns in mind, we discussed locks, health care, fire safety. Habiba’s husband is an engineer, so locks should not be a problem. We suggested that one of the new teachers be a nurse, and that particular attention be paid to the heater bought for the new facility so the kids don’t burn themselves.

We went to see the land she bought. It’s a cleared lot. Great location on a side street.

Pam has already raised $4,000 and would like it to go to this effort. Toni thinks Bpeace can easily raise another $10,000-$12,000 to get this rental started ASAP. It not only sets up one of our associates in a stronger business, but empowers 60 Afghan families to have both parents work. We looked at the occupations of the parents of her kids, and most are working—taxi drivers, butchers, and teachers. We keep running into this…the middle class is coming back in Kabul.

To help Habiba move the day-care center out of her home, go to the fundraising blog we created for her: http://afghandaycare.blogspot.com

$500 will pay a month’s rent; $200 will pay two month’s of a teacher’s salary; $100 will set-in a brick at her new building.