Gender Equality Sweden Project #30892

Partnering to build hope, capacity, and community

by Operation Mercy

Project Report | Oct 10, 2025
Visiting Central Asia and the Middle East

By Andrea Vogt | International Director Operation Mercy

women's empowerment group in KAZ

Dear friends of Operation Mercy,

I promised you in my last email that I would get back to you after my visit to Central Asia — and so I want to do that before I head out on my next trip, this time to Jordan. But more about that later.

I had an amazing two weeks with our people in Central Asia! I am so proud of so many of them. As I mentioned before, I lived for 20 years in the region — to see the progress these countries have made, and especially how we as Operation Mercy have been able to contribute and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind in the process, is so encouraging.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan, I visited our Sparkling Freedom project for the first time. Over lunch with a handful of women working in the sex industry — many of them my age, some even talking about their grandchildren — I was struck by how different their stories are from the stereotypes we might hold. Many have been trapped in this work for years. Often, their families back home have no idea what “Mum” or “Grandma” does for business in the big city.

Then one woman shared that she has saved enough money to get a small flat — she wants out. Through months and years of relationship-building with our team, she has gained the self-confidence and self-worth to believe she can do this — that she can leave and start over, even at this stage of life. What a moment it was to witness her share this with our project manager! The team is ready to journey with her and support her in her next steps.

Back in the office, we worked on project evaluations and planning — looking at the synergies between the Sparkling Freedom project and the Women’s Empowerment project, which supports women at risk, often those stuck in abusive relationships.

We want to dig deeper: what can the two projects learn from each other? What are the common root causes? The new leadership team in Kazakhstan is eager to learn and expand the projects into new areas — new parts of Kazakhstan where women face the same struggles. Being able to train, coach, and walk with them through these processes is one of the highlights of my work in the International Office.

Then we made a surprise trip to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — only four hours by car from Almaty. Members of the Almaty Partnership Project for Children with Disabilities met, for the first time with our partners in Bishkek who build professional assistive devices at low cost. It quickly became clear that the two projects complement each other perfectly. Special chairs were loaded up to bring back to Almaty, and all agreed they want to continue learning and cooperating across the border. Peer learning across projects and countries is one of our current strategic goals — so it was wonderful to see it in action!

Disability was also the main theme during week two in Tajikistan. Here, our local partners are wrapping up a project that has been supported by the Swedish government for years. Due to changes in international aid funding, the government cancelled the contract after one year and nine months of a three-year programme.

After the initial shock, the team worked hard to fit as many of the planned outcomes as possible into the remaining months.

And wow, have they worked hard! Teachers and social workers have been trained; children are not only receiving rehabilitation but also going to school. A meeting with a representative from the Ministry of Education was especially encouraging — they endorsed our partners’ training as the main national training on inclusive education in Tajikistan.

A new area of focus has been female hygiene and reproductive health for girls and women with disabilities. The stories uncovered in this area were often heartbreaking, but the change achieved through simple, practical means has been truly amazing.

Now we are working together on a new funding proposal for a private foundation, as well as the final report to the Swedish government. We hope and pray that this important work can continue.

Finally, a partnership with a second local Tajik NGO was renewed. Some misunderstandings were cleared up, expectations were communicated more clearly face-to-face — and that, too, is part of our work. Not everything is always perfect; conflict happens. But we strive for understanding, to learn from mistakes, and — as in this case — to celebrate when we can continue and renew our partnerships.

So this is part of the roller-coaster ride I go on as International Director — and also what my international team supports faithfully in the background.

Next week, we begin a Project Cycle Management training in Jordan for new managers — many of them local Jordanians, as well as representatives from other Operation Mercy countries. Keeping our people well-trained, maintaining high project quality, and ensuring that our engagement with the community is professional and hope-giving — that is our goal.

Thank you for joining us in this!

Warm regards,
Andrea

disability teams learning from each other KRG/KAZ

CBR group in Tajikistan

project partners in Tajikistan

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Sep 2, 2025
Evaluation and planning with Central Asian Teams

By Andrea Vogt | International Director Operation Mercy

Central Asian food - looking forward to this!

Dear friends of Operation Mercy,

In some ways, this report deadline comes three weeks too early, because starting tomorrow I will be on my way to visit our teams in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. I will meet leaders, project managers, and project participants, hold planning sessions for the 2026 projects, discuss our vision and values with new staff, and many other things.

In Tajikistan, a large three-year project cycle in cooperation with the Swedish International Development Agency is coming to an end. My visit will therefore include part of the evaluation of the impact of our work with children with disabilities, their families, schools, and social workers.

Like other countries, Sweden is reducing its international aid, so we are currently looking for new supporters for this important work. We have some strong leads with a German foundation, but every gift given helps us to continue building our capacity—both in the international office and on the ground—so that we can relate to donors and local communities at the highest standards.

For me, this trip also feels a little like coming home. I spent 20 years of my life working in Operation Mercy projects, especially in Community-Based Rehabilitation, in Central Asia. I look forward to reconnecting with former colleagues and friends, practicing my somewhat rusty Turkish and Persian language skills, and—while drawing on past experience—supporting my teams to shape the future of these nations and the lives of individual people.

I will get back to you all at the end of September with a full report of my trip, including learnings and pictures. Until then, thank you for standing with us in building hope, capacity, and community.

Yours,
Andrea

my last visit to the local disability team

fantastic work done in the local centre

Links:

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May 14, 2025
Out of the Comfort Zone - Peer Learning and Celebration!

By Andrea Vogt | International Director Operation Mercy

Jordan

Dear Friends of Operation Mercy,

Yesterday, I returned from our annual Country Directors' Meeting, where 18 of us—representing our country projects and support staff from the international office—gathered to review the past year, learn from one another, and celebrate the transformative work happening in our nations.

We also introduced a new three-year project proposal form and other tools to help us better plan, implement, and evaluate our projects. I’m excited to see how these resources will enhance our impact.

One of my favorite stories from the week centered around crossing ethnic and religious boundaries. Perhaps this theme stood out to me because some of us had just attended a conference on peacebuilding right before our Operation Mercy gathering.

In North Macedonia, our Albanian staff—who typically focus on empowering Albanian women in difficult life situations—joined a food bank initiative to distribute food to homeless and impoverished Macedonians. This role reversal, where those who are often recipients became the givers, had a profound impact on both sides. As a special bonus, the President of North Macedonia volunteered at the food bank that day and was deeply impressed by the Muslim women assisting in the effort.

A similar story unfolded in Jordan, where Arab Christians—who have maintained their traditions for centuries—attended Operation Mercy seminars on community mapping, identifying problems, and finding solutions. Inspired by these sessions, they began engaging with Muslim Syrians and Jordanians—communities they previously had little interaction with. This minority group, which often felt the need to care for themselves due to a lack of external support, began serving others in remarkable ways.

These are powerful examples of our principles of Peace-making, Perseverance, and Partnership in action!

On the fourth of our five 'Ps'— Professionalism which includes our Program Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation—we spent several sessions working on enhancing our approaches. It was inspiring to see how eager all our leaders and project managers were to embrace the new system and improve their work. The peer learning around our vision and values was also incredibly impactful.

I want to extend a special thanks to several of our board members who spent time engaging with both project teams and international office staff over the last 10 days. It was a true joy to witness their hands-on involvement with our people and programs.

Finally, our fifth 'P' is Prayer. For us, listening to God is crucial in all our work, even in the midst of busy meetings like this one. We took time to lament the hard things we witness in our communities—like 400 clinics closing in Afghanistan due to USAID cuts, and the rising conflict and polarization despite our efforts.

Yet, we also recognize that true transformation often starts with small seeds. Even on hard ground, we are beginning to see the first blossoms and fruits of our labor—and that is something to rejoice in.

I hope you can celebrate with us and continue following our journey. If you would like to learn more about Afghanistan and the situation there, please have a look at our Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health project on GlobalGiving.

Thank you,

Andrea

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