Journey of Hope 2017 journey-of-hope-2017 | Page 35

A boy plays on top of a hay pile
outside his home in Laghman,
Afghanistan while his mother and
neighbors attend a CAI-supported
literacy class.
They also worry about the families
returning from Pakistan, some have never
lived in their home countries. They are poor
with no opportunities and there is no water.
Sometimes 30 families must share a well,
and each family has between five and 13
people. Even so, they are happy to be here
because their children can be educated. In
Pakistan, many report their children could
not go to school.
This is why they need more resources
for education. They ask for a permanent
school to be built with several classrooms
to accommodate all the children currently
here and those they expect will relocate
to Lokhai as more refugees and internally
displaced people settle in the village. They
know the tents are a temporary solution,
and they appreciate them. Even with tents,
conditions are not ideal for learning. “It is
too hot to study in tents without water and
toilets,” they said.
They want several more teachers to work
in the classrooms. They also requested a
Quick Learning Program for older students
who may have missed a few years and need
to get caught up to continue going to school.
They say they have 15 members on
their education committee who are ready
and willing to help if CAI will only sup-
port them. The men are humble in their
requests, but the urgency of the situation
rings clear through every word, “Without
FALL 2017
education a person cannot see right or
wrong. They cannot see the world.”
For the elders and the village of Lokhai,
educating their children is the only way to
stop history from repeating itself. It’s the
only way to prevent another lost generation,
another generation of widows raising chil-
dren who have never known their fathers and
who have little hope of escaping poverty.
EDUCATION WILL HELP
A GENERATION RISE UP
The story of Lokhai is heartbreaking.
The landscape is harsh, unwelcoming, and
unfamiliar to returnees and refugees as
they squeeze into a community that has
little to offer, but welcomes them anyway.
The dust creeps deeper into their skin
everyday, threatening to scour away any
trace of brightness.
However, look deeper into this resilient
society and it’s clear that seeds of hope are
growing, taking root, and driving up to the
light. That hope is education and the seeds
are the children in the village who take their
place on dusty carpets whether they have
shelter or not. The seeds are the teachers
who show up day after day to share their
knowledge despite lack of resources. The
seeds are the elders who place education
above anything else. Together, this resilient
garden will grow strong and smart leaders
with the knowledge to save Afghanistan. n
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Place dry apricots in a pot of water and
keep them there overnight until they
are soft. Place the softened apricots
in a juicer (or juice by hand) with
additional water.
Usually, in northern Pakistan, apricots
are dried in the sun but nowadays
sulfur is used to dry, which can have
unhealthy side effects. Some people
choose to buy the apricots pre-dried
as opposed to drying them at home.
Take equal portions of sour yogurt and
water in a large bowl. Shake until it is
the consistency of butter (or place in a
lassi machine).
Make five flat breads (see page 29 for
chapati recipe)
Tear bread into small pieces and set
aside. Boil 4 ¼ cups of yogurt mixture
with 1/2 cup of butter. Put pieces of
bread in boiled yogurt mixture and
cook until it thickens. Serve with butter.
JOURNEY OF HOPE | 33