When learning of the conditions of Afghanistan’s war widows and children, Betsy Beamon felt that their desperate plight required a total commitment by those American citizens who had the wherewithal to take action. Betsy decided that she was just such a citizen to make just such a commitment; she established Women of Hope, a project for empowering the women of Afghanistan and then set out to tour the country to see how she could further help the women and children in need.

Based upon what she saw, Betsy decided to take powerful measures to address powerful problems. In September 2003, Betsy sold her home, her car, and put all her possessions in storage. She left her job of twenty years and moved to Kabul, Afghanistan to help the widows and children rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient.

For more than two years, Betsy has worked in Afghanistan to develop and implement a program to teach the women who head the households of refugee families how to grow their own food in hydroponic micro-gardens. With these new techniques and skills, Afghan women not only have the means for improving the nutritional intake for their families, but also the means of production for establishing commercial gardens from which the women could begin to derive a family income.

When the atrocities of the Taliban became known to the world, Betsy Beamon just knew what she had to do. She established the Women of Hope Project and went to Afghanistan to survey the situation first hand. As soon as she stepped foot in the country, she new she had to relocate there to work with the women she had met. Because of her commitment to carry through on her values, many women in Afghanistan can now provide for their children -- and for their future as well.

To learn more about Betsy and her cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:
www.womenofhopeproject.org.

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