Picking up where Patty left off… the women of the team met with the mothers of the students and the men were privileged to meet up with several fathers of students at both of the schools for street kids.  It would not be culturally appropriate for us to go into the homes, so the fathers came to meet us at the schools.

 

Like the women, we sat with the men, shared tea, and heard their stories… touching stories of hardship, determination, thankfulness, and hope.

 

We sat with men like Hamid who has 5 children ages 4 – 17.  He and his family fled to Iran during the Afghan civil war and lived as refugees in Iran for 11 years before returning to Afghanistan 9 years ago.  Hamid has very little education and works as a laborer.  He is very proud of the fact that he owns his own wheelbarrow.  He desperately wants his children to get an education so they can have a better life than he has.

 

And like Walid who has 4 children and recently returned to Afghanistan from Iran where they spent 11 years as refugees.  Two of his kids attend the school for street kids and he says they enjoy it so much it’s all they talk about.  He repeated it and our translator emphasized it… school is ALL they talk about.  ;)

 

Then there was Mahar, a 16 year old who, for the most part, is his little brother’s guardian.  Mahar attends public school, but his 6 year old brother used to work the streets until he began at the street kids’ school. Mahar speaks very good English, says he loves studying, and is obviously a very bright young man. When I asked Mahar what he wanted to be when he grows up, he looked me square in the eye and said, “Everyone in Afghanistan has a wish to be a good worker and a good provider for his family.”  I have no doubt he and his little brother will both do just that.

 

Assad has 4 kids all of whom have had to work the streets at one time or another because he is paralyzed on his left side from an injury and cannot work.  His wife works in a shop to try to pay the rent and buy food.  He is very thankful for the school for street kids that gives his children a good education and a nourishing meal every day.  Since he and his wife cannot afford food for the kids, it is their only meal of the day.

 

Lastly (I could go on and on) we talked to Mohib, a day laborer with 3 kids.  His 9 year old girl and 6 year old boy both attend the school for street kids and he wants his 4 year old to attend when he becomes old enough.  Mohib has no education and has been a laborer all his life.  (He, too, is proud that he owns his own wheelbarrow.)  He said his kids love going to school and that the school for street kids provides a very high level of education – better than the public schools.  He says the teachers are very good with the kids and obviously care very much for them.  His kids are a lot happier since they began attending and their behavior has improved dramatically.  He jokingly complained that they’ve become little tyrants about hand washing – they will not allow him to eat until HE has washed his hands, too.

 

These proud, strong men never complained in the slightest about their circumstances.  They simply told their stories with humility and thanked us for providing a school for kids like theirs – off the radar of the public school system – so they can get the education they need to make a better life for themselves.  They all have an amazingly optimistic outlook for the future.

 

What a privilege it was for all of us to spend a day with these parents.  It also answered a question we had all been puzzling over since the first day we spent with the kids in the schools:  “How could kids who come from such dire circumstances – living in abject poverty amid the rubble of decades of war and oppression – be so happy?”

Finally, on our last day here, the answer came from their moms and dads – these kids are genuinely LOVED.  They are given a broad foundation of love in their homes and that love is built upon every day at these very special schools by the very special teachers and staff.

 

With the love of the parents, the vision and education provided by the schools, and the enthusiasm and hard work of these amazing kids, the future of Afghanistan is looking brighter every day.

 

--Bob

 

(For security reasons, the names used in the story are not the men’s real names.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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