Wonderful

     I admit to starting to drag just a bit every now and then. Effectively a prisoner, I rarely get to interact with the people we are trying to help. And without that interaction—a reality immersion—sometimes it is hard to keep going.
     Well, problem solved. I got to go to a girls’ school outside of Farah. It is in a village of about 9,500—which means there are about 1,500 families, as the families here are very big. Amazingly, there are 800 girls going to school in two shifts, with girls in grades 1-12. I was prepared to be depressed, but the school is immaculately kept, having been built by the Germans 4-5 years ago. Of the 20 teachers, 17 are which is really quite remarkable..
     A girls’ school may be the single largest indicator of a community’s commitment to peace, as those places in the country that are the most conservative, and the most violent, rarely have girls’ schools. Farah is far away and isolated, but they have committed to send their girls to school.
     It was truly wonderful, and a great boost just when I need it.