Bpeace in Afghanistan in July

Kabul storefronts for rent.

The new Kabul.

Morning spent in market with the whole Bpeace team, Bakhnazera and her husband Khan Aqa . . .a few hours in Hussein's (also known as St. John) shop led to an afternoon of retail real estate analysis . . .WOW . . .Kabul rents are high . . .but this city was built for 600,000 and now is home to over 2 million.

The visit was a lesson in urban growth. New shops are pushing out the old style markets and new high rise buildings (Kabul 5 story version) are emerging in the city skyline. Bpeacers continue to be amazed every time we visit at the rate of growth . . . Kabul has no idea what is ahead of them!

We just hope that some of the old charm is not lost while Kate hopes the bakeries don’t close . . .she got up early this morning to venture out by herself to buy bread and was proud to return with room service delivery of hot bread to Athena and Wendy. The bread came straight off the heat and was incredible. But we digress.

Rents are very high with the best shops going far out of reach for our associates. We did find a possible location on Flower Street which is beginning to be redeveloped into new shops . . . possibilities to be explored in the coming months.

Our only security scare this visit turned out to be nothing but good news but for a while got our heart rate moving. We received a call from Najib while in market that there were demonstrations occurring in the city center. In the past these demonstrations have often turned violent. Kate and Najib spent some time by phone strategizing with Kate reading the Kabul map (Kate hates maps) to figure out just where the team was relative to the demonstrations. With map information in hand and Najib out in the city collecting the latest information, we decided to stay put and wait it out (and keep shopping which is why Athena and Kate bought so much). The GREAT news is that the demonstration (employees from the Ministry of Defense seeking pay) was peaceful, just like any city in the world with the city police handling the crowds and traffic. Bad news was the Athena missed her presentation with UNICEF which was to be one of her trip’s highlight. Another time.

Athena had a great meeting with Neelab who is expecting her first child in October. She is determined to continue her research and consulting business, Afghans for Afghans, even after she has her baby. She said with a warm smile "This is a Bpeace baby." Neelab expressed gratitude for the support she feels from her mentor, Wendy Miller, who she says is always there for her. She is also looking forward to connecting with her new co-mentor Barbara Bylenga. We can't wait to meet her new baby when we return in November.

Our last evening was spent with Athena and Kate at The Grill, a wonderful Lebanese restaurant, again under the stars. Mark McCord from CIPE was our host. We really love working with this organization. Wendy was off at the Serena meeting with another potential business partner . . .zoom zoom zoom.

Tomorrow we leave after a morning of associate meetings (Kate) and one last session with the AWBF trainees (Athena) . . .Wendy off to India first thing. Stay tuned for our follow-up blog and some last pictures. We will post again in a few days. For such a short trip, we feel so filled. Yes, there are challenges here. But there is also hope, determination, and spirit. And this is what will bring us back.