Uptight? Try Running a Print Shop in Kabul --Michelson

WE MOAN and groan about how our stock portfolios and 401(k)s have taken a beating due to the near-collapse of the U.S. financial system. About cutting back on holiday gift giving expenditures due to job insecurity. About customers tightening their belts, and their marketing budgets. But, in the true holiday spirit, why not consider, instead, our many blessings in comparison to those around the world less fortunate and who face even bigger obstacles in making a living? Take Parwana Wafa, who operates Afghan Women Entrepreneur Printing Services (AWEPS) in Kabul. The only female commercial printer in all of Afghanistan, half of her 49 employees are also women—many of them widows who provide the sole support for all of their family members in this war-torn country. Today, with major clients in Kabul such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Asia Foundation and several UN agencies, Wafa had no background in printing when she launched AWEPS in 2005. Her mission was to help impoverished Afghan women earn wages for their families, learn a skill and become self-sufficient. With antiquated (third-, not second-, hand) equipment, AWEPS prints newsletters, brochures, letterhead, etc., on a two-color press.