"Thank you".
As a Jesuit novice in 2005, I often used to flip through Servir magazine in our Novitiate library. I was fascinated about JRS work. At times, we talked about Fr Aloysius Fonseca SJ, who lived and died in Afghanistan. Never did I dream that I would be given an opportunity one day to work for JRS South Asia as Communications Officer as part of my Regency (part of Jesuit formation). JRS has been a place where I learned to empathize with refugees and to share their agonies and joys.
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I remember one Sports Day celebration in Sohadat
School. As I was taking photos of the event, I could not pay attention to the children who were near me. Suddenly I noticed a small girl, perhaps five or six years, pulling my shirt. When I looked down, she said, “thank you,” and gave an angelic smile. That moment I understood what our Jesuits, collaborators and benefactors have been doing here: our fearless and unceasing commitment to Afghanistan was precisely to bring smiles to the younger generations through education.
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Thanks to our loyal local staff and Indian Jesuits who stood with JRS at all times. It is because of them that JRS continues to flourish in spite of all the crises and challenges.