As we often do after dinner, tonight I asked the team to share their personal highlight of the trip so far.  The response was immediate and unanimous… “The school!”
 
There are more than 200 kids enrolled in a school for “street kids” that our host organization has been supporting since early in 2009.  The students are often the family bread winners – young children who have had to make the cruel choice between attending elementary school or working on the streets to make money so their family can eat.

This special school helps the kids get off the street and develop the skills necessary to re-enter and compete within the public school system.  In exchange for their agreement to participate in 4 hours of classes every day on subjects ranging from the three R’s to interpersonal skills and personal hygiene, the school provides each child with a hot, nourishing meal – which is often the only meal these kids get that day.

We were given the opportunity to spend a little time with the kids in their classrooms asking them about their goals and dreams, quizzing them on their A-B-C’s, and even entertaining them with some hand-drawn cartoons (thanks Dan!).  After that we were given a special treat… serving them their lunch!

What hits you immediately when you see these kids is their patience, discipline, eagerness to learn, and world-class smiles.  (Remember, these are kids who have lived a considerable portion of their young lives eking out a living on the streets of Kabul!)  They sit patiently in their seats, stand immediately when you enter the room, listen carefully, jump at the chance to answer any and all questions, and grin from ear to ear the entire time.

Not a single one of the nine “tough guy” leadership types on our team left the school with an unmelted heart and more than one had a little something caught in their throat when they talked about their encounters many hours later.  If these kids are any indication of the quality of the next generation that will lead their country, the future of Afghanistan is very bright.

Nothing else I can write here will provide any more insight into the lives of these very special kids than a few photos that Bart captured today, so I'm going to let them tell the rest of the story.

Many prayers were answered in bulk today by some little children rescued from the streets of Kabul and who are healing and growing because of the support of people like you.  May God richly bless each and every one of them.

--Bob
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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