Validation

Today, I was finally able to get out to the field and had an amazing day visiting the Rabia Balkhi High School, the only all-girls high school in all of Afghanistan.

Our organization worked to rebuild this school that had been destroyed during the years of Taliban rule in Kabul. Unlike the only other area of Kabul I had seen, the neighborhood where the school resides remains tremendously underdeveloped and signs of rebuilding have only recently begun. This high school is a great success story when considering that no more than five years ago, women were not even allowed to attend school under the tenets of a fundamental Taliban regime.

I was escorted by one of our program officers, an intelligent woman deeply committed to the success of the school. She kindly showed me the various elements of the school that the Foundation helped support and further reaffirmed my rationale for pursuing non-profit development as a career.

Although the high school is on winter holiday until early March, the resource center was bustling with Winter Intermission classes in English, Mathematics, and Computers. Classes of approximately 20 students sat in quiet attention, despite the freezing temperatures outside.



The experience of this visit was particularly moving as I had written about Rabia Balkhi twice before (with the help of local staff) in donor reports, but as is often the case in this job, it carried no specific feelings with it. To actually see the school in action was beyond words. I now know the struggles of the surrounding community, the earnestness of the faculty staff, and the commitment to education of the students.

I have millions of more pictures that I want to share, but the internet connection is super slow. I will link the rest to my flickr account shortly.

Khuda Hafez!