NGK Fellowship: Destination Afghanistan

Today was an exciting day! I remembered why I decided to come to Kabul. If my internship were done after today, I would be fulfilled. First of all, let me say that being in the U.S…at least being in Cambridge makes me complacent. When one ventures out, you awake the part of you that knows you should be a better steward of your life. The Sunday before, I left for Kabul, my pastor briefly shared a message entitled, “what can one man do?” He gave examples of the great things that changed the course of history because of one person.

Let me share with you what one woman has done. Aid Afghanistan is a school for girls who are not accepted into the conventional Afghan, post-Taliban, school stream because they are older. As a result, a grade 7 in Aid Afghanistan has women/girls in all age ranges. One woman has built 9 schools in Afghanistan complete with  classrooms, computer classes (w/computers), staff, one cook and two guards per school (each school has about 18-21 staff in total). These accelerated schools allow a student to complete 2 years of schooling in a 12 month period. Subjects include, English, biology, Dari (a major language in Afg), math…

She also has a growing manufacturing & design firm where she utilizes only Afghan raw materials and Afghan women. She is expanding her company, and I was very impressed with what I saw today.

One woman has taken the initiative…the idea is now living, organic and taking a life of its own. She is making a difference in many people’s lives. From the teachers she provides jobs for, to the guards, to the students, and the design workers… She is directly changing the stitches of Afghanistan’s economic development. I am challenged.

In other news, I am blending in. You see me sitting on the dinning table, having Kabob and Nan…those who know me know that those seats are entirely too low for me, but it is my “labor of love” J

I was the paparazzi this afternoon…I can’t seem to get enough of this place…SOO much to take in…enjoy the photos and read the captions.