{"id":228,"date":"2021-07-02T12:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T12:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owda.ca\/?page_id=228"},"modified":"2021-07-22T20:33:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T20:33:58","slug":"mehdi-akbary-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/owda.ca\/mehdi-akbary-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
<\/p>
Bamyan has always been one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan. Widespread poverty has created an environment of scarcity and pushed almost the entire population into survival mode.<\/p>\n
For any living creature, while fighting for survival, nothing else matters; everyone is for himself or herself. No one cares about the rule of law, about the future, about the future of their children, nor they care about their long-term health! All that matters is surviving today. Concerning themselves on the environmental issues is not even on their radar.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t When I arrived in Bamyan, I was shocked to see the sheer amount of plastic waste everywhere!! They covered the sidewalks, the streets, the waterways, the rivers, around schools, the university campus, and even around the sacred places as mosques and madrasas!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t When you don\u2019t know how the mind works, it’s beyond comprehension that how a society can be so irresponsible. How is it possible for anyone to pollute the environment he or she lives in! How is it possible for a person not to make the tiniest effort required to manage their waste! How is it possible for a society to lack the common sense to see the health risk their waste creates for themselves and their children!<\/p> Most of the streets were used as waterways for wastewater. They conveniently directed the drainage from their house on the street right in front of their door where their children played.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t When you know the working of the mind, then such behaviors become understandable.<\/p> Being born in one of the poorest countries in the world, and been raised in one of the poorest parts of the country, subconsciously fear of lack, scarcity, and fighting for basic needs becomes second nature and everything else is considered irrelevant. \u00a0<\/p> In Bamyan when a person doesn\u2019t have the means to put food on the table for his family, he\u2019ll do whatever it takes to avoid starvation. Stealing, robbing, deceiving, and even killing someone will feel justified.<\/p> We don\u2019t start wars because we have enough food, enough land, enough wealth, or enough power; it begins when the mind fears lack. To the mind, it\u2019s as simple as that; we can justify it however we wish.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t In three years, I had numerous surveys and pilot projects, all to prove the effectiveness of the Five laws of Inner Change. I chose to create an inner change in the participants regarding plastic waste, because it was one of the biggest contributors to environmental and health issues all over the country, and picking up garbage is considered a demeaning act. I wanted to change that perception and have the participants voluntarily pick up garbage; not just their own, but at the park, streets, and from the neighborhoods.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> I started a survey to find out if people were aware of the dire consequences their neglect of the environment could have on their health and the health of generations to come.<\/p> We surveyed 2,500 people from all walks of life.<\/p> It was a simple, Yes or No, questionnaire on their awareness of the health risks associated with the unhealthy environment they have created.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t 86.5 percent of the participants knew the health risks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Almost all the participants liked and wanted a clean and healthy environment for themselves and their children<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Close to 100% of the participants believed they had what it took to create a plastic-free and maintain a healthy environment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Almost no one was ready to invest in a task that could benefit them and the society.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t 98% believed there was no way to have a responsible society in order to create a healthy environment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Almost 100% believed his or her action will have zero impact on the environment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t This is a classic example of how your outer world is the direct reflection of your inner world. The mind only does what it has learned and doesn’t concern itself with what’s right, what’s wrong, what\u2019s moral or what\u2019s immoral, even if the outcome is harmful to you and your children. \u00a0<\/p> I presented this finding to the Governor and mayor of Bamyan to encourage them in investing in changing the mindset of the population; otherwise, no amount of projects could produce the intended result.<\/p> The mayor presented a list of projects he believed could make a huge difference for the city and its environment. But I cautioned him on the long-term consequences of repeating their failed approach, because without an inner change, no outer change was possible.<\/p> Our failures, individually or collectively, are always the result of not knowing the Five Laws of Inner Change.<\/p> Governments spend billions in third-world-countries trying to eradicate hunger without taking the mindset of the population into consideration. This is why Afghanistan is still facing wide spread poverty despite over a trillion dollar poured into the country. This is a perfect example of disregarding the Five Laws of Inner Change.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Is inner change possible? If it is, then how sustainable is it.<\/p> There are countless workshops, seminars, and books, promising to help you succeed in whatever endeavor you choose to undertake. By now you should know what caused you to believe and purchase a seat in a week-long and expensive workshop and what happened before, during, and after.<\/p> You must know by now that during the workshop you were inspired, motivated, fully committed to change your life, and were wondering why and how you’ve been missing such an awakening opportunity. Everything you heard, you believed. Everything you saw energized you. Everything they were selling, you bought.<\/p> Now you know that your dilemma began after you got home and when you started putting your newfound beliefs in practice.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t To measure the effectiveness of Five Laws of Inner Change and its impact on our outer world, I started my pilot projects.<\/p> The University of Bamyan, department of education, and institutes allowed us access to their facilities and their students. \u00a0<\/p> Picking garbage is considered one of the most degrading acts in Afghan society, especially for the educated sect. If we could change their inner world through motivational workshops and get them to pick up garbage while bouncing off the public embarrassment they’d face, we could get them to do anything else.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Date: September 2018<\/p> Location: Bamyan University<\/p> Duration: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5 Days, 3 Hours per Day<\/p> Participants: University Students<\/p> Number: 100<\/p> Objective: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Measure the short and long-term<\/p> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0impact of a motivational<\/p> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0workshop.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Survey before the start of the workshop.<\/p> Question asked:<\/strong><\/p> Will you volunteer to pick up all sorts of waste from streets after the end of this program?<\/i><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In all this pilot project, PowerPoint and videos were used to bring to light plastic pollution and its devastating impact on farmland, waterways, domestic animals, wild animals, rivers, and on our health.<\/p> The participants were also given examples of other countries that took control of their destiny by overcoming their sabotaging beliefs and low self-confidence.<\/p> We displayed videos of individuals who started to believe in themselves and changed their country and the world by breaking the taboo and taking action.<\/p> Most importantly, since Bamyan is a tourist destination, we presented them with the potential a clean and healthy environment would have on attracting tourists and investors, resulting in an improved local economy, consequently jobs for everyone.<\/p> During the workshop, the participants were divided into groups to discuss and find ways on how to take control of their destiny starting from having a clean city. The job of the groups would be to come up with a proper plan on how they were going to tackle the problem. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t At the end of the program, 90% of participants’ self-confidence rose to almost 100%. They couldn’t wait to start and prove to the world their newfound potential. They were grateful for the workshop and believed they were awakened to the reality of who they truly are.<\/p> They were surveyed with the same question as at the beginning of the workshop.<\/p> Will you volunteer to pick up all sorts of waste from the public street?<\/i><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Ninety three percent of the students were not just were ready to volunteer, they recruited their friends to join in cleaning their city. They started from the university campus and then on to the city streets. All along fighting off the negative reaction they got from passersby. They were called garbage pickers and were mocked. Even some of their parents warned them to stop bringing shame to the family.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Date: September 2018<\/p> Location: Bamyan University<\/p> Duration: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a05 Days, 3 Hours per Day \u00a0<\/p> Participants: University Students<\/p> Number: 100<\/p> Objective: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Measure the effectiveness of<\/p> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Five Laws of Inner Change<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tQuestion 1. Do you understand the impact a polluted environment has on your health? <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Question 2. Would you like to have a clean and healthy environment?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Question 3. Do we have the ability to create a plastic-free environment?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Question 4. Will you participate in one of our volunteer groups to start cleaning plastic waste today?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Question 5. Do you believe Bamyan will ever have a plastic-free environment?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Question 6. Can your action will make a difference?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Pilot Project 1.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Pilot Project 2.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t