Home to over 75 million people, Iran is the second largest country in the Middle East. Known as Persia until 1935, Iran occupies the large plateau located between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, sharing borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Iran is a land with an intricate tapestry of both modern and ancient influence. Evidence of one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations is found in Iran. Today, the capital, Tehran is a busy metropolis situated at the foot of the lofty Alborz mountain range.

Iran boasts a sophisticated culture, where poets and poetry are highly valued, with Persian epic poetry sung to traditional accompaniments. Life in Iran reflects a rich cultural heritage with traditional events that have been evident for centuries.

Khosh amadin - Welcome! Hospitality is widespread and foundational to Iranian culture.

An Iranian proverb says, "Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands only that which he has given away"... such is the heart of these hospitable people.

Iran's central plateau is actually a tectonic plate. The geology is highly unstable, creating frequent earthquakes. Operation Mercy began working in Iran in response to the earthquake disaster in Qazvin in 2002, then in Bam in 2003, and has continued to respond with both relief and development projects.

Persian New Year is a great time of celebration.  Our Life Skills program for empowering young women used this opportunity to award students for achievements made in the program. Awards were given for good attendance in the classes, doing their homework, getting good grades, being disciplined and for behaving well.

The gifts consisted of towels, shoes, balls, reading books, and a nice sturdy folder with a flap for their study materials for classes. Those who received awards were extremely pleased.

Afterwards we ate lunch together. There was a lot of excitement in the air! People were chatting away, telling jokes, laughing and enjoying the special day together.

Operation Mercy in Iran empowers disadvantaged young women.  We currently provide courses in English, computers and a number of life and work skills for up to 800 women through our Women’s Empowerment project. Most of these young women are refugees from Afghanistan. These opportunities for education and skill development equip the women and provide a more positive and stable future.

Operation Mercy provides local Iranian NGO professionals training through workshops and seminars in the areas of leadership and management skills. Modules cover a range of topics related to effectively managing an NGO. Topics may include standards of best practice, thinking strategically, planning for future programs and projects, how to maximize staff skills and strengths, effective public relations, personal development and many more.

Many of the NGOs we work with have projects that provide support and other services to poor families with children. We know that by providing this training we can more positively impact many more families indirectly through their work and initiatives.

Our staff has many years of experience working in the Persian language and culture. Our culturally appropriate approach is our unique strength. Seminar participants appreciate our respectful approach to the local culture and that we are able to communicate using the local language. Through the seminars and interactive workshops as well as using the New Horizons book in the local language we aim to develop many responsible young Iranian leaders.

Boys love football!! Afghan boys are no different.

In Tehran, Operation Mercy works with empowering refugee Afghan women. The younger women are given weekly and monthly seminars and workshops to build relevant life skills. The Afghan boys really wanted to be a part of the sport aspect of the project.

What to do with their enthusiasm and energy?

Football training was organised to develop physical skills and fitness through fun, practise drills and exercises. Team shirts were given out, venues were hired and the boys were into action BUT not before the prerequisite of literacy lessons.

Football skills alone rarely see boys equipped for life, so literacy and life skills became the prerequisite before attending football training. So not only do the boys develop teamwork, fitness, self discipline and team strategies but they also learn to improve their reading and writing as well.

Now everyone is happy ... Operation Mercy, Afghan mothers and their boys as well.

For our viewers in Iran, please click this link to view the video 

http://animoto.com/play/i0R7u1g8s0WN1cgUXmzU4Q

One of my favorite things to do is to meet and speak with local NGO leaders and social workers in the regions where Operation Mercy works. I like to hear their stories, their aspirations, and their struggles. In 2011 I had the privilege of spending extensive time with social workers and NGO leaders in Iran and Azerbaijan. The context was a 4-day seminar in Tehran and a 2-day seminar in Baku on the ethics and principles of NGO leadership. I had a wonderful time with around forty Iranian and thirty Azerbaijani NGO leaders and social workers. I wasn't pretending to have the definitive answer on NGO leadership ethics but rather I tried to make a case for a style of leadership that was consistent with the values and realities of civil society. That is to say, a style of leadership that is participatory and developmental which relies heavily on influence and less on authority. Easier said than done!

George M Burns (1978) in his classic book, Leadership, wrote, 'The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power. True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to." In the same sense, I also believe that sustainable community development takes place only when people choose to adopt new ways of thinking and acting on their own volition... not by force. Therefore, I argued that NGO leadership ought to reflect a participatory and developmental flavour.

I was very impressed by the quality and enthusiasm of our Iranian and Azerbaijan colleagues. I discussed my time in Baku in one of my blog postings, so here I'd like to focus on my impressions of the 4-day seminar in Tehran. I spoke through a translator but a few spoke excellent English. Thirty of the forty Iranian colleagues who participated in the seminar were women. My initial fear that the ladies would be hesitant to participate in my Socratic approach was over within the first ten minutes and revealed my ignorance of Iranian women. Their conservative dress and head coverings did not dampen their enthusiastic participation and ability to engage in the subject matter. I was impressed by their wisdom, their ability to articulate their opinions, and their strong commitment to improve the quality of life for the poor and needy of their communities. All of this was expressed in a context of humility and hospitality that created a great learning atmosphere for all of us. I think it is fair to say that there was a strong sense of professional camaraderie throughout the four days.

During the seminar I did some lecturing, but I mostly tried to tell stories and ask questions. Each day had a different focus. We discussed the obstacles to finishing well as a leader, such as greed, lack of self-control, relational conflict, etc. We discussed leadership models, influence tools, change models, and team building with small group activities and opportunities to put theory into practice. One day the participants were divided into teams and given various timed tasks that required close team work. I'm sorry to say that the men's team was last every time. How do you interpret that?

Talk about hospitality! The last day I was showered with gifts. Many of the participants either made or purchased a gift for me, including books, art, wallet, etc. One tender expression of appreciation was a beautiful chalk drawing that one of the participants stayed up all night making.

In 2010, 800 Afghan refugees were supported by our Women’s Empowerment Project in Tehran, Iran. These mothers and young women were given opportunities to participate in literacy classes, English lessons and vocational training, such as hairdressing and tailoring. This continues today.

Our staff often listen to stories of despair and hardship the women describe as they attend the project. Providing a simple picnic trip for these women and their children is an opportunity to leave behind difficult circumstances for a day and enjoy the company of others in a relaxing environment.

"A burden shared is a burden halved" may well be true as the women build relationships. A bus trip, a shared meal time and simple fun games provide the relaxing environment that these women all appreciate.

This project continues to grow with many more women looking for assistance. Many of these women are grateful for the provision of social workers, medical services, warm clothes and house wares that Operation Mercy is making available.

For our viewers in Iran, please click this link to view the video

http://animoto.com/play/ogDShitjAzVU0yaFvD1GTA

Operation Mercy has been working in Shar-e-rey, Iran with poor Afghanistan refugee women, children and youth since May 2009.

We concentrate primarily on Afghani female heads of households and disadvantaged girls, although boys are also assisted. We offer a series of educational opportunities, income-generating classes and social counselling opportunities.

Currently Operation Mercy is teaching literacy, hairstyling and tailoring classes for female heads of households, computer, English and volleyball for girls and computer, English and football for boys. Since 2010, the Social Service Department of Operation Mercy also served 1100 clients attending the project by the help of a psychologist, psychiatrist, two social workers and social science apprentices of welfare. Services are provided to both individuals and in group settings.

Maryam is one of our clients whose father has two wives and 11 children. They all live together in 60 square metres, an apartment which is below ground level and has no proper ventilation. Maryam never had the chance to finish high school as her father could not afford her school tuition. For two years she attended Operation Mercy's English and computer classes. Later she learnt income generating skills and registered in Operation Mercy's hair styling classes. Within nine months she was ready to start her own business. She made flyers with the help of her computer skills and distributed them in her neighbourhood. She rented a room and equipped it with a donated business start up kit. Now she and her three sisters are working as hair stylists and she is planning to go back to school with the money she earns.

Maryam's example reflects the success of this project by empowering women to change their own circumstances and futures.

A grant contract with the Japanese Embassy in Tehran was recently concluded for 'Life Skills Training for Afghan Women's and Youth Empowerment in Tehran Province". This project is to have vocational training courses in literacy, English, computer skills, tailoring and hair styling for female or youth Afghan refugees in Shahr-e-Rey city of the Tehran province. One of the highest Afghan refugees' population cities live in this province and the project is expected to directly impact 600 Afghan refugees that are planning to take part in the training sessions. We are very happy and grateful to have this partnership with the Japanese Embassy in Tehran.