Tuni's Story.

Well, a few posts ago I mentioned that I was going to put some interactivity into this blog. So here it is.

I've been here for over 6 months now, and I can't count the number of times I've been asked for financial help. I always try to do what I can, because really a small amount of money can go a long way here, but as my friend Tanya once said, it's not the point of a Fulbright grant to fund everyone's emergencies. So I have had to draw the line, which has been very painful for me at times. That's why I'm turning to you, my beloved friends and family.

When I went to the village in January, a girl named Tuni helped me a lot. She's probably distantly related to Masud, although I don't know how. She's a sweet and very talented girl, but her family has fallen on hard times, much like lots of other families in the village. They don't have electricity or water, and she's one of 9 children. Her father died tragically a few years ago from getting electrocuted. Tuni has been married and divorced, and although she still has a chance to get married again, she will need to provide a large dowry to the groom's family. She also has two sisters who are of marriagable age, and it's putting lots of financial pressure on the family.

She asked me to help her by buying her a sewing machine. She's extremely talented, as you can see from the pictures below. She taught herself how to embroider, sew, and do block printing, among other things. She wants a sewing machine so that she can sew fast enough to make a small living for herself and help support her family. In order to buy her a nice machine (the kind with the foot pedal - no electricity required), I need 100 US dollars.

I'm asking you now to please contribute whatever you can, so that I can buy her the machine. Even if it's a few bucks, it would help. If you think you can spare something, please send it to Masud (he'll forward it to me). His email is masud_z@yahoo.com - you can email him and get his address.

I don't want to start sounding like one of those awful, guilt inducing commercials begging for money, so I'll just mention here that this is your chance to know that your money is going right to the person who needs it, and the benefits that it produces will multiply for years and years to come. And you will have my undying gratitude, as well as the knowledge that you did something that may profoundly change the course of a person's life.