Day One.
Off the streets and into the classroom.
Our first full day on the ground was incredible. We got to spend it with about 100 6-13 year old “street kids” – children who could not attend the public school system because their families rely upon them as breadwinners. Yes, that’s not a typo… 6-13 year olds.
Fortunately, thanks to a loving parent, aunt or uncle, or other guardian, these particular kids have been given the opportunity to leave the streets at least for half a day and go to one of the schools our organization supports with the goal of integrating them back into Afghan society.
Their classes consist of not only the Afghan equivalent of the 3 R’s, but also include art and history as well as some less-traditional lessons in discipline, moral values, and personal hygiene. They are also served a nourishing hot meal every day, which for most students is the only meal they will get that day.
To say these kids are determined to get an education is a gross understatement. They endure temperatures ranging from 100+ in the summer (actually much hotter in the tiny, cramped classrooms) to -10 in the winter, 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. And many will line up outside the school more than an hour ahead of time just to try to get the best seats in the classroom.
We were privileged to spend a little time teaching, playing with, and just loving many of them this morning. But I want you to hear about the rest of our day from one of our team members, Allison, who wrote about her experience as one of the “teachers” from our team today.
--Bob
Blue eyes. Brown eyes. Wide eyes. Eyes full of sweet innocence; eager and hopeful. Precious boys and girls looking sharp and focused in their school uniforms - black, white, and blue. This is the picture that greeted us this morning at one of the Kabul schools for street kids. There sitting on those wooden benches were some of the most vulnerable kids from Kabul’s chaotic streets and just by their presence at school today they are promising Afghanistan a hopeful future.
Teaching a good old Summit kids song (with a few edits) and the story of Joseph was an amazing experience. I can’t explain what it was like to watch a roomful of kids – who have been through far more in their short lives than I can possibly imagine – jump, clap, and dance along to a song reminding them that God loves them.
The greatest moments of our morning included squeezing onto already full benches to help kids trace and color their own version of Joseph’s colorful coat. Sweating through the song we taught three times, losing ourselves in the joy of the moment. Serving a hot meal to overly hungry, yet astoundingly polite and thoughtful kids. It’s humbling to think that the promise of a hot meal is enough to get them to school. And it’s amazing to realize that getting to school is enough to change their life, and perhaps the life of their country, forever. Humbling, captivating, memorable forever.
We returned to the guesthouse for lunch, and then started our afternoon with guy-time and girl-time Afghan style. The guys went off to pick up some traditional Afghan duds while we women headed to a unique woman’s garden in the heart of Kabul.
The Shahram Women’s Garden is an 8-acre female-only oasis where Afghan women, free of their chadors (head coverings), can roam the sidewalks among rose bushes and fountains and have tea in the grass. There were loud conversations and laughter not heard anywhere else in Kabul. There was a gym and sports classes, vocation training, literacy classes, and shops run exclusively by women who sold beautiful, hand-made garments to raise money for their families. The female staff members who led us through this garden repeated – probably more than ten times – that it was just for women, for women only, only women here. You see the point. They were proud. And then, to put ourselves in their shoes and realize how sweet it would be for a woman in Kabul to enter this garden and feel totally free, we understood why they were so proud. Free is a word a woman in Afghanistan seldom knows. But brave is for sure a word to which they bring a deeply significant meaning.
It was a great day. Full of hopeful moments, reminding us that amidst the darkness we seem to hear so much about, this country is full of light and hope and joy. So thankful to be here and to continue to be a part of God’s patient work in this place. Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement. You are just as much a part of this as we are. We love you!
