Stories of Hope

Last year, Julia met with the district director of the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan.  She asked him, “What’s the biggest change you have seen because of our school project?”  Without hesitating, he smiled at her and said, “You’ve given us hope.” He said, “Let me tell you two stories about how you’ve changed our communities.” 

One story involved a little girl was about nine.  After the Taliban, she was allowed to go to school for the first time, but her father forbade it.  While all of her friends started the first grade, she was told to stay home.  Seeing the excitement of her friends, she started sneaking into school.  She probably could have been publicly whipped for disobeying her father.  One day, her father received a letter from a relative in Pakistan.  He was illiterate; he couldn’t read it.  Subsequently, this little girl bravely came forward and told her father that she could read it for him.  Instead of beating her, he actually embraced her.  Although he was shocked, he was proud.  She was the first person to read in his family.  Such stories happened throughout the district.  The girls’ school, which started with 420 girls and 8 teachers, now has almost 1,000 girls and over 20 teachers.  It is such courageous and determined children who will change Afghanistan. 

Second, there used to have a soccer field which had been used as a killing field.  Now that field has brought together boys and men from various ethnic groups.  For the first time in years, they are actually playing soccer together, not fighting. 

In addition to these stories, we have seen many others, first-hand.  A few years back, team members from MRDS were approached by four communities that had fought each other for decades.  Some fought with the Soviets and others with the Mujahadin.  Later, some fought with the Taliban; others with the Northern Alliance.  Realizing that nothing would change unless they educated their children, they pledged to lay down their arms if we would help them build a new school.  We did just that.  Now, they are actually learning the same language, and they are learning to communicate.

Importantly, they are also interested in building bridges with America and getting to know more about our beliefs and values.