Sanga Amaj Women’s Drug Treatment Center Innovative Rehabilitation Program [Download the full press release about Sanga Amaj]

The Sanga Amaj Women’s Treatment Center in Kabul, the only women’s residential treatment center for substance abuse in Afghanistan, is initiating a new and innovative program as part of its multimodal approach to treatment and rehabilitation. Using the tools and techniques that Afghan women have used for centuries to give creative expression to their lives, the women in residence at the Center, as well as recovering abusers in day treatment, will create a community generated tapestry. A tour is being planned for the embroidered work to be exhibited worldwide.

The Sanga Amaj Women’s Treatment Center, named for the young Afghan female journalist who was murdered in 2007, has been recognized for comprehensive treatment of women drug abusers. Established in Kabul in 2007, the Center has treated over 400 women in residence and follows the majority of women as outpatients. There have only been 15 documented cases of relapse. The program is supported by INL through the Colombo Plan. Dr. Toorpaikay Zazai, Director of Social Services for Afghan Women Organization (SSAWO), enthusiastically endorses the embroidery program as an excellent way to bring women into the healing circle, helping them focus on small achievements and keeping their hands busy as their bodies and minds heal. One of the women in treatment said she thought it would be a good idea to sell some of the finished products, such as embroidered napkins, at the bagh-e zanan “women’s garden.”

The initial pilot project will be led by Hafiza Malikbaba, Rubia’s master embroiderer. Rubia Handwork Director Ghulam Sakhi explains that “reaching out to women at the Treatment Center is an obvious extension of the work Rubia Handwork has been doing for the past eight years, reaching out to rural, non-literate and other disadvantaged populations of women and helping them learn skills and earn income through traditional Afghan crafts.” Rubia Handwork works in partnership with Rubia, Inc. Executive Director Rachel Lehr, present for the opening ceremony on May 28, 2008, states that “one of the aims of Rubia is to promote creative collaborations between artists and artisans and that this pilot project will bring women together in healing. The traveling exhibition of the tapestry will bring awareness and attention to the devastating issue of substance abuse in Afghanistan and its impact on families and the society.” The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), an Afghan NGO working at the grassroots level in education, civic education and drug control, have provided an umbrella of support for the Sanga Amaj Women’s Treatment Center. WADAN has provided mentoring for the administration of the Center and helped facilitate the partnership between Rubia and the Center in this creative collaboration.

Rubia Executive Director Rachel Lehr accompanied Rosemary Stasek, Director of A Little Help, on a visit to the Kabul Vocational School for the Blind to deliver knitting materials — yarn, knitting needles and patterns donated by Rubia and A Little Help supporters. Of the school’s 144 students about 40 are girls. In addition to their academic subjects the girls are trained in a variety of life skills including knitting and sewing. In the classrooms visited, the girls were knitting sweaters and baby clothes, which they sell locally and to one another. As the students shared their knitting with the visitors, it was clear that this was one of their favorite activities. The teachers were delighted with the donation. The sighted teaching assistant described the materials to the teachers as they examined the skeins and discussed the merits of the weights and textures of the yarns. They were particularly interested in the smaller size needles and the needle case where pairs of needles were inserted into separate pockets. The instructors teach knitting from patterns that they can discern through feel and requested samplers of different textured patterns to expand their students’ range. The school’s principal appealed to donors to send tools needed to instruct visually impaired students such as Braillers, Braille slates and Braille paper.

Please contact staff@rubiahandwork.org if you would like to make donations of knitting supplies or other tools for the visually impaired.

Rubia embroideries have found a new niche in a permanent display at the Cabul Coffeehouse and Café in Qala Fatullah, street 6. Sales of our full line of embroidered goods are being managed by the Coffeehouse staff. The Cabul Coffeehouse makes the best cup of joe in town, offers delicious light meals, wireless internet, and is a congenial gathering place for locals and expats.

Rubia in the US:

Rubia’s Board of Directors
Rubia, Inc has been working under the umbrella of Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE) since 2000 when Rubia was formed in response to an urgent need to provide Afghan refugee women in Pakistan with an opportunity to support their families. Rubia has appreciated all the guidance and institutional support that SEE’s fiscal sponsorship has provided. Our organization has grown and outgrown SEE’s nurturing nest and are now actively working with their assistance to obtain our own non-profit status.
Rubia is proud to announce the formation of a Board of Directors that will guide its growth and development and help it become a model non-profit organization and agent for change. Rubia’s Board elected the following officers: President — Catherine Rielly, Ph.D., International Program Chair and Associate Professor at the School of Community Economic Development, Southern New Hampshire University; Vice President— Jennifer Fluri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Geography and Women’s and Gender Studies at Dartmouth College; Treasurer — Sussy-Rose Shields, metalsmith, state juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen, and environmental educator; Secretary — Nancy Garrick, integrated arts and education specialist. At large members of the board are Alicia Lucksted, Ph.D., clinical-community research psychologist at the University of Maryland Center for Mental Health Services Research, and Beth Gottschling, who has more than a decade of experience working with rural artisans in Afghanistan, Central and South Asia both with Aid to Artisans and as an independent consultant. Rubia’s staff is thrilled to be working with this committed and experienced group of women. Rubia will be assisted by WilmerHale, legal firm of Boston, MA, through pro-bono representation for independent non-profit status, intellectual property rights, and other legal matters.

May 2, 2008 was the inaugural event for the Rubia-Women’s Caucus for Art collaborative quilt project at the City Council Building in Wilmington, DE. It was an exciting opening as several hundred people came to view the exhibit on the Wilmington Arts Loop bus tours, and refreshments and music from Sigma Alpha Iota filled the exhibition hall. Rubia volunteers at the sales and outreach table were greeted by many patrons interested in learning more about Rubia’s work and seeing the fine embroidered items from Afghanistan.
One exhibit visitor wrote in our comment book, “...this is amazing, you really have to look closely to see all of the unique details of each square. It reminds me that we are all connected to one another throughout the world, like a thread connecting us to each other... .”
Molly Crowley, Rubia Project Associate who organized the exhibition, says “Bringing women together across the globe through their handwork is a time honored tradition of women’s domestic lives. Taking that work into the public sphere through artistic collaboration, and raising awareness of the persistent problems in Afghanistan and how we can help is an essential objective of Rubia’s mission. The enthusiasm continues to build around this exhibition, and we expect it to be seen by thousands of patrons across America during its traveling tour.” The quilt will be on a traveling national tour through September 2009, which includes locations in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Missouri, and Washington, DC. More exhibitions are in the planning stages and will be posted on the project website: http://www.marycrowley.com/rubia. We would like to formally thank the WCA-Philadelphia for their assistance in organizing and creating this successful exhibition. We would also like to thank Marie Elcin for her work in assembling the quilt and the donation of her time and talents.

Rubia Returns to the Largest International Folk Art Market in the Country. For the third year, Rubia has been selected to participate in the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, July 12-13 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The market features over 100 artists from more than 40 countries. The artists will exhibit a huge array of arts and crafts ranging from embroidery, jewelry and textiles, to clothing, wood carvings, pottery and more. As many of the vendors represent cooperatives and associations of artisans, the economic impact is enormous, affecting thousands more in villages and communities around the globe. Program Director Jeanne Freeze, who has coordinated Rubia’s participation in the Market for three years, says, “the Market is an exceptional opportunity to make trade and professional connections that sustain Rubia’s work in Afghanistan and the US. The Market is an ideal time to introduce new Rubia products, and we will have several new items for sale this year.” For more information visit www.folkartmarket.org.