Arriving in Kabul is a confronting experience – the military presence and having to walk far from the terminal to meet people. In contrast, one then experiences the Afghan hospitality and the quiet but determined focus on mission that Orville, then project director, and Silvia, my host in Kabul, conveyed.

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I remember the enthusiasm of the students at Jebrael, near Herat, to transition to other courses once they completed basic foundations, the innovative “Each One - Teach Some” way of cascading English teaching in Bamiyan and the basic Dari instruction to young women and their mothers in the IDP camps in Kabul. I witnessed also the very good relationship the project had with the education authorities in Bamiyan.

In all these and more the education offers a lifeline of hope to these young men and women. It also plays a vital role in restoring the battered Afghan education system. As elsewhere, many expressed to me their desire to connect with the outside world more and to convey positive messages about