Bridge AFGHANISTAN

Karen Woo Foundation

2010-08-20T15:09:00.002+01:00

Since the sad and sudden death of Karen we have been looking at ways of channelling her positive energy into a lasting foundation to carry out her good works into the future. To that end we have in conjunction with some of her close friends established the Karen Woo Foundation. For further information please go to the website http://www.karenwoofoundation.com/ or email contact@karenwoofoundation.com.

The website is currently being built and the charity is being registered. Although there is a facility on the site for donations via pay pal it is preferable if you can register details and wait until the charity is registered so that gift aid can be claimed on any donation made.
We thank you for your support at this very difficult time and have been consoled by the many kind messages that we have received.
Thank you.

Dear All,

2010-08-08T16:43:00.003+01:00

Thank you for your messages at this sad time.
Karen was a dedicated professional who died trying to do good medical work in a difficult world whilst helping those who have very little.
Her loss is immeasurable to everyone that knew her.
She touched many people’s lives and her memory and charitable belief will live on through all of our work.
Bridge Afghanistan

Our Thoughts with Karen.

2010-08-07T12:27:00.002+01:00

Dear All.

We have just heard the terrible news from Afghanistan.unfortunately Karen was part of the group that were killed whilst delivering aid and medical care in Nuristan of Afghanistan. we are distressed and deeply disturb by sad news We thank everyone for thinking of Karen at this time.

Firuz Rahimi
Bridge Afghanistan.

Medical Expedition

2010-08-07T12:12:00.002+01:00

Nuristan region of Afghanistan July 2010
I wanted to write to you directly regarding my upcoming trip to Nuristan, a remote province in Afghanistan. I will be trekking for over three weeks as part of a medical team in to the mountains of this inaccessible area to deliver medical care to the people living there. Working in conjunction with the International Assistance Mission (www.iam-afghanistan.org), an organisation that has been working in Afghanistan for over forty years, I will act as the team doctor and run the mother and child clinics once inside Nuristan. The expedition team also includes an eye doctor and a dental surgeon as well as me as the general physician.

I wondered if you might consider making a donation to support this expedition. The funds will be used to buy medicines and medical equipment and to fund the transport and logistics of the trek.

I am currently fundraising for this expedition – My target is $7000 USD, approximately £4,700 GBP

Afghanistan has the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the world; one in five children die before the age of one (World bank stats for 2008). The communities who live in these remote areas get no medical care at all, so we are hoping to be able to make a really big difference to the lives and livelihoods of the people that we meet there.
The trek will not be easy; it will take three weeks and be done on foot and with packhorses - no vehicles can access the mountainous terrain. The highest reaches of the mountains are at approximately 16,000 feet and snow covered.

The expedition will require a lot of physical and mental resolve and will not be without risk but ultimately, I believe that the provision of medical treatment is of fundamental importance and that the effort is worth it in order to assist those that need it most.
Starting from the province of Badakhshan in the North of Afghanistan we will load up packhorses and begin the walk up the Munjan valley, travelling through another valley takes us to a pass that leads into the Parun Valley. We will begin at about 7,000ft, ascend to almost 16,000ft before dropping down to around 9,500 ft for our final destination. The total walking distance will be 120 miles round trip.
We will be dealing with a population of around 50,000 people in the region, many of

whom will travel to meet us along the way to be given medical care. The Munjan population are Ismaili Muslims while the Nuristanis are Sunni

and of a distinct cultural background. Common

ailments include respiratory infections, parasites,

worms, and skin infections as well as more

seriously debilitating conditions such as cataracts, malnutrition, traumatic injuries, and child birthing

injuries.

With your generosity:
£25 buys a 7 day course of Co-Amoxiclav, a broad spectrum antibiotic.

£50 buys analgesia, anti diarrhoea medication, rehydration solutions.

£100 buys bandages, syringes, needles and disposable gloves

£150 buys food and water for one team member for the trip

£250 buys vaccines and analgesia

£500 buys a portable solar panel – enough to power essential equipment such as satellite phones and GPS tracking equipment

The area in North Eastern Nuristan that we will reach is one of great harshness but of great beauty also. I hope that we will be able to provide medical care for a large number of people.

I would be most grateful for your contribution no matter how big or small.

Bridge Airlifts Medical supplies To Afghanistan

2010-03-18T15:15:00.001Z

Afghan Aid (ITV Report )
A doctor from London is organising an airlift of medical supplies to Afghanistan, where she's setting up a clinic in a women's prison. Some of the supplies stockpiled by Karen Woo come from British hospitals... which would usually destroy them if they weren't used.
Doctor Woo quit her job here in London so she could work in the war-torn country. Thanks to her efforts and those of her organisation, called "Bridge Afghanistan", forty pallets of medical supplies will be landing in the Afghan capital, Kabul, later this week
You can watch the Video by clicking here
or the link
http://www.itv.com/london/afghan-aid68188/

BRIDGE AFGHANISTAN IN BMA NEWS

2010-03-18T15:14:00.001Z

Associate medical director Karen Woo (pictured) has swapped a comfortable job with private healthcare firm BUPA for aid work and film-making in Afghanistan.

Currently in Kabul making a documentary and delivering medical supplies collected in the UK, Dr Woo told 'BMA News' she was ‘flat broke and living in a war zone’ but enjoying helping people in great need. On graduating from medical school, she commenced surgical training before joining BUPA.

She now works for medical evacuations company Remote Medical Solutions International, and is leading Bridge Afghanistan — a non-profit organisation delivering, and making a documentary about, aid in the country. For more details about donating medical supplies or funds to Bridge Afghanistan, contact THE BRIDGE AFGHANISTAN
DR KAREN WOO AND FIRUZ RAHIMI at bridge150@gmail.com

Read the BMA News by clicking here

A Musical Soiree

2009-09-30T23:38:00.004+01:00

Saturday 3rd October 2009 – 7.30pm

The Tabernacle, Powis Square, Notting Hill

Caasi Michael, Vincent, The Great Shakes , Justine Frances
Jess Mae, Angie Dixon, Robbie Chard, John Burnett-Hall

An evening of music and entertainment
Raffle, drinks and food
RSVP: Karen 07967 098 110, Philip 07966 018 015

Read more about 'Conflict of Interest' Project of Bridge

Broadcast Journalism Training Course

2009-09-16T23:37:00.010+01:00

Bridge Afghanistan is going to hold a week of Broadcast journalism training course in capital Kabul and Northern Province of Jawzijan. A week of free Journalism course will coverbasic radio journalism, news writing, news varieties, technical skills and media law. At the end of one course Bridge Afghanistan will issue certificates to Male and female participants of the course. The course will start on 25^th of September. If you need more information please contact the Bridge Afghanistan.

A Conflict of Interest

2009-09-14T00:24:00.018+01:00

I (Dr Karen Woo MBBS,MRCS) met Firuz Rahimi at the Afghanaid fashion show back in March 2009. The fashion show was the brainchild of Lady Bridget Cowper-Coles wife of the British Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Mina Bavary and her sisters. I was the producer of the show and Firuz was covering the story for the BBC World Service – central Asia. We got chatting back stage and I discovered that Firuz had originally trained as a doctor back in Afghanistan before becoming a journalist and moving to the UK. As we talked we both discovered that we held the same opinion; that many things can be done if you have a will to do them. We shared the same spirit that whatever you dream to be possible can become a reality; and so a partnership was born.
I looked at the substantial and impressive work achieved by Bridge and felt drawn to become involved with the work of this organisation that was achieving so much, so swiftly and with so little.
Shortly after the Fashion show, which was a great success and raised £25,000 for Afghanaid, Firuz and I started to discuss the documentary project.
Just to give you a bit of background, I'm a surgeon and was able to visit Kabul in April this year when I went to the CURE Clinic, the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC) and the Children’s House. The things that I saw during that visit made me, as a doctor, want to be able to bring back the human stories both good and bad.

For the last few months I've been working with a small team of journalists and filmmakers as part of Bridge Afghanistan to put together a plan for the documentary I envisioned. The principal drivers are to use the medium of healthcare to provide an in road for people outside of Afghanistan to come on a journey with me as I explain what it is I am seeing. The access that a doctor or healthcare professional has to a community is unlike that available to a journalist; the trust and conversations are different. The insight is through the lens of birth and death, of loss and disability, and reflects every aspect of the consequences of conflict on individuals and on their community. The loss of nearly all elements of the infrastructure of a country; security, governance, education, transport, clean water, sanitation and power, are all visible in the health of the people.

The body of the documentary will focus on key players whose commitment to providing healthcare and a sustainable offering go largely unsung, these people are both foreign nationals working in Afghanistan and Afghan men and women who a working to make a change. The context will be set by the women and men who are able to tell of their experiences giving first hand narration to the viewer. The predominant focus is on women as this is where the most disturbing and tragic scenarios are played out, occurring through ignorance, poverty and cultural and religious restrictions. The characters; both the patients and the care givers, give us their human stories and link us to the real people and families of Afghanistan. This perspective gives substantial reason to continue to invest in humanitarian aid and development.
The documentary aims to counterbalance the British media's bias toward reporting only the live conflict, to provide a deeper level of information and understanding of the complex situation which is the current Afghanistan. It aims to reflect the human spirit of survival and to remind of, or explain the relatively developed Afghanistan of the 1970s as a way of visualising a possible future of peace and stability.

A young lad with eye injuries being cared for at the Children’s House in Kabul.

The Children’s House funds board and lodging for families and their children and pays for surgical treatment and rehabilitation costs.

A young girl with a broken leg is accompanied by her father at the Children’s House in Kabul – April 2009.

The French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul

The United Nations Millennium Development Project.
The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Project states eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of which this documentary and additional photographs, film, and recorded material will address:

MDG 3: To promote gender equality and empower women
MDG 4: To reduce child mortality
MDG 5: To improve maternal health

Why make this Documentary? Afghanistan has contended with continued levels of instability and conflict throughout its modern history. The current government faces enormous challenges on every front not least to defend a fledgling democratic process, to extend its authority beyond the capital, and to create a unified nation. Much of the health infrastructure has been destroyed, and many people in remote villages have little or no access to health care. Reproductive health care in Afghanistan is particularly inadequate, resulting in some of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. One woman dies in childbirth every 28 minutes and 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5; health care issues should be at the forefront of the fight to stabilise Afghanistan. The documentary will explore the underlying reasons why healthcare continues to be limited in both urban and rural settings of Afghanistan.
Why now? Afghanistan is the hot media topic with the eyes of the world upon the conflict and the presence of foreign military powers. For countries that have troops and international aid present in Afghanistan there is both human and financial resource at stake. But what of the Afghan people who are living their daily lives in cities and in rural areas, who tells their stories and presents the human face of Afghanistan?
What do we see of the real Afghanistan?
For those living outside Afghanistan the perspectives offered are limited, the media shows a particular slant on events in Afghanistan. The history and the culture of the country provide a picture of a complex society; a myriad of problems that will by no means reach a resolution overnight. Afghanistan is a place where people conduct ordinary lives, live, eat, sleep, and have families amidst the harshest conditions. Many people strive to do the right thing, there is bravery and there is hope for a time of stability. There is beauty and creativity in Afghanistan but these are overshadowed by the media images of military casualties, burhkas, and conflict.

Bridge Dormitory Welcomes Backs Students

2009-08-28T23:28:00.007+01:00

After lengthy summer holidays students will be back to Jawzijan Province to continue their studies .life will be different for 120 students who are housed in Bridge dormitory equipped with more equipments and facilities to ensure the comfort living space for students. in mean time Bridge still continues to over come the shortages and problems .currently we are short of proper beds for students .donations are still continuing with every donation we keep solving problems . we are raising money any one wishing to contribute will be more then welcome.
with more updates soon.

We have a Library Now

2009-07-19T18:23:00.014+01:00

Finally construction of hostel's library has finished. For further research and studies ,library is an essential part of an educational establishment.In order to create a library for students who are living in Bridge dormitory ,one of the huge rooms of the building has been dedicated for library.Book shelves prepared by local carpenters and fitted in the rooms. Chairs and tables were also provided and fitted in the library.

Newly constructed Library
Chair and tables were fitted in the library .

Library shelves are empty now but in near future all of the shelves will be filled with hundreds of different books that will be useful for students.All the University and schools student can use the library it is not limited only for the resident of the dormitory.As there are lack of libraries in the city therefore Bridge Team decided to keep the library doors open for outsiders as well.

Bridge dormitory's library is sponsored by Silk Way Foundation.In the picture Head of Silk Way foundation Mrs Orol,Head of Dormitory and Students .

Without struggle and hard effort of the Bridge team and specially without generous help of our sponsors we couldn't have housed students and create other facilities for students. Library has been funded by Silk way Foundation that is based in USA.Head of the foundation Mrs Orol visited the dormitory during her trip in Afghanistan. She also promised that the foundation will assist the Bridge team to provide books for the library.

Video Clips from delivery of Aid in Afghanistan

2009-07-13T11:45:00.007+01:00

We have started our activity by raising money for flood victims in northern Afghanistan. Since then we have been working on different projects.The most successful and recent accomplished project by Bridge team was establishing a hostel for poor university students. still it needs a lot of work,we do our best to tackle the issues and provide the housed students with better life .
For Video clips and Pictures please click Read More
for time being we are also working on health project that still needs to be finalised. but in mean time we have some video clips that has been shot from rural areas in Faryab and Samangan Province during delivery of aid for flood victims ,we will uploading all other video's
from different parts of afghanistan.....

1-Food items were given to families in Buta-Ujan district of Faryab Province

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_FHRUqHWCY

2-In Buta-Ujan district of Faryab Bridge Team established mobile health centre to treat those patient who couldn't afford to go to cities..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GsAeMj3-us&feature=related

3-Local people on aid by Bridge Team

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_OTPaik-qs

4-Food aid for Takhar province in north east of the country,where people suffered from earthquake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHwl0qOhak&feature=related

5-Aid delivered in Samangan another province in north Afghanistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuaVkLbHrkQ&feature=related

Dormitory Kitchen is ready and serving food for Students

2009-07-10T14:19:00.003+01:00

Construction of kitchen and dining rooms are finished .students started eating their food in dining rooms that is built for that propose. Dining table chairs, food plates, jugs, etc are provided by Bridge team.
As Bridge team doesn’t have sufficient funds to provide food supplements for students therefore we have established a system where money will be collected from students by each representative of the room who has been selected by students themselves. In addition to that students are given small amount of money by the government towards their food cost. Students themselves go to market to buy their food in monthly bases. Bridge team’s cook cooks the food and serves three times.

All the necessary items like plate, spoon, jug, glasses table, chairs, etc has been provided for students.From now own students don’t have to spend their time on cooking food instead they can study.

Students already started using the dining room with food cooked by the cook that is provided by Bridge team.

Dormitory is housing 70 students at the moment .all the students eat their food three times together. This will also provide a time for students to socialise with each other and know each other as Students are from different part of Afghanistan.

Due to lack of beds we couldn’t accommodate the target number of 120 students. Bridge team tries hard to raise some funds to buy more beds so we can accommodate 120 students.

Bridge team approached one of local organisation with request of digging a well for safe drinking water. The digging started three days ago it will finish soon and the dormitory will soon benefit from safe drinking water. The total cost of well estimated to be 1000 $ which is provided by the local aid organisation who builds dig wells in the city .

Bridge Dormitory had high level visitors

2009-07-09T13:14:00.004+01:00

Bridge team continues to raise money in order to purchases items that is needed in dormitory like dining tables, chairs, beds and etc. In mean time newly established dormitory has a lot of visitors from high level government officials who praised the support of Bridge team.

One of the visitors was Jawazijan University’s president Eng Gul Ahmad Faizi(left picture).He visited dormitory talked to students and praised the work that has been done. In mean time he asked University students to appreciate the support and try use of most their time while they live there. He also mentioned that still hundreds of other students are living harsh life in markets and rented rooms. Eng Gul Ahmad Faizi said he will do anything that is possible to support the Bridge team in order to provide a better life for students.

Please click here to listen what Eng Gul Ahmad president of university said about Bridge Dormitory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkn0EPVltUk

Students Now has Moved to New Building Provided by Bridge Team

2009-07-04T18:04:00.005+01:00

Finally within a month 120 student who were given priority has moved to this new building. Some Reconstruction works has been done to provide a better living condition for students.
Video : Students Moving to new Home :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VcMS4t24yQ&feature=related

New building with huge garden arranged by Bridge Team.

The Building has a lot of Rooms . Bed room,Library ,Dinning Rooms are separate with two Class for students to study.

Bed Rooms

New communal kitchen built.A cook will be Hired to prepare the Meal for students

Students finally moves to new home

Students moving to new place

A Gardner hired to do the Green bit of the Building.

A Water Tank has been installed in top of the Roof of kitchen to provide the students with safe drinking water

The construction work of the dormitory monitored closely by Member of the Bridge Team Eng Massoud.

Bridge Team's Activities

2009-07-04T17:02:00.003+01:00

What have been done so far?

In the past few months we have been able to raise 15000$ to help the flood victims in Afghanistan. We provided food items for about 600 families in four provinces. In the past few weeks we have started the biggest project, to find suitable shelter or hostel for 120 university student in Jawzijan province in northern Afghanistan.

Idea of providing shelter for students

The newly established university in Jawzijan province in northern Afghanistan has 2500 students in 17 departments. Most of the students (1500 Students) are from different parts of the Afghanistan. Due to lack of resources the Afghan government provided shelter only for half of the students in university dormitories. Lack of hostels in the city prevented female students from attending the university .
Students who missed the government target list had to find their own place to live in order to continue their studies. Among those, there were many students who couldn't’t afford to rent a place so they left the university. Some students rented rooms and quarters in very cheap areas like ruined markets, store rooms etc. They lived in very bad conditions. For instance five people had to share a very small room in the city in order to be able to foot the bill. They used to study, sleep, cook, and eat in the same room. The pictures that have been taken by Bridge Team living in different parts of the ruined warehouses in the city speak for themselves.

Video : students Talking about their living Condition in Ruined Wharehouses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUQhbp4gEQs

Students used to live inside the markets that is mainly used by garage to repair cars.(students studying outside in balconies in summer despite noises as it is based inside the city )

Some rooms rented by Students to live and other rooms mainly used for storage of different goods of traders.(Students can been seen in second floor )

4 to 5 students used to live in on small room.Room condition can been seen from pictures

Room that is used by Students.Hot in Summers and very cold in winters. The second picture show is the quarter or the market .this sort of markets mainly used to store goods,park trucks, and sometime Gas balloons .

Student does their laundries outside the room with little water that is available.Those who wants to study will do around the warehouses as there are no green spaces and rooms are overcrowded.

Playing volleyball . Students prepare their own meals but not in a very good kitchen

Corridor of different rooms . Students praying.

During distribution of food items for flood victims in different parts of Afghanistan, students approached the team requesting if the Bridge Team can arrange a place as hostel for them to live. Despite the lack of funds and resources the Bridge Team took the courageous decision of providing the students with adequate living space.
Bridge Team members searched the city and found a nice empty building that needed some building work, in the mean time the team met the elected local city council members to ask if they could give any assistance. Fortunately they agreed to pay the rent of the building for one year at the cost of 100$ a month. At the same time the Bridge team approached one of the local private educational centres in the city and asked for any donations and they agreed to the pay the utility bill for one year.

The Bridge Team had some funds left over from the flood donations (4000$) and another 2000 $ has been raised. With the money a new kitchen has been built and the bedrooms and library room refurbished (floor carpets, plates, spoon, and safe drinking water)
Through a collective effort finally the hostel was ready. 120 students who have been living in ruins in markets mixed with workshops have been moved into a so called hostel.
The priority has been given to poor students.

As the project continues the Bridge team is working to to over come the following plans :

1-Creating a library within the dormitory.

2-Computer Class

3-Establishing a Course to teach community children

4-Digging well for drinking water

Afghanistan flood

2009-07-03T14:01:00.004+01:00

It has been awhile since recent flooding in north and north east of the country forced people out of their homes and lands. Heavy flood claimed 120 people's life,left 1000s without home and any shelter.This all happened in province of Takhar,Kunduz,Samangan,Jawzijan,Faryab.
Well as it is clear the government is busy with its own agendas and doesn't wanna help those who need allot . The corrupt Afghan governments officials will only think about the self interest and the balance of their own banks. therefor a group of young people from Europe and inside Afghanistan decided to raise some money to support the flood victims . In a matter of a week 11000 $ has been raised. A commission has been established inside Afghanistan to deliver necessary basic items that were needed in the ground .They already started their trip from capital Kabul to affected areas in the north part of the country. In coming days we will be following that team and will be updating the blog with recent pictures and news from the flooded areas. The following pictures has been taken today from the first place the team has visited.

Food itmes that have been deliverd to flood victims (Each Family )

1-Flour-50Kg
2-Rice-7kg
3-Cooking Oil-3L
4-Suger-1kg
5-Tea-500g