SOLA: School of Leadership Afghanistan

Our collective future lies in the hands of our young people.  This statement is as true for Canada as it is for Afghanistan. One of the goals that I set for myself during my deployment to Afghanistan was to be a conduit that brought young people from Edmonton and Kabul together in a meaningful, and hopefully, enduring way. My hope was that by using technology to span the distance between them these young people would be able to gain a new level of understanding and appreciation for each other and hopefully make some lasting friendships along the way.

In December 2010 I turned to the staff and students at Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton.  I met two wonderful teachers and made presentations to their classes on Afghanistan, the role of Canadian Police in Afghanistan, and invited them to ‘meet’ Afghan youth.  The staff and students were very keen and I was very encouraged by their enthusiasm.

During my pre-deployment training in Ottawa I was fortunate enough to meet a talented woman, herself a student completing a Master’s program at Royal Roads University in British Columbia, who used her contacts to introduce me to the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) in Kabul.  After exploring SOLA’s website I was sure that this was the right school to approach.  Once in Kabul I contacted SOLA’s Founder and Managing Director Mr. Ted Achilles.  Interested in the prospect of connecting with Ross Sheppard Ted was very gracious and invited me to SOLA for dinner to meet the students and staff.

I was fortunate enough to visit SOLA on Tuesday March 08, International Women’s Day.  I attended with two members of the European Union mission and Ted welcomed us like family.  We were introduced to a number of students.  All the students, save one, were young ladies.  It was a wonderful night and I was very honoured to meet these exceptional young people and their dedicated teachers.  The enthusiasm, energy, and ambition of these young people was very inspiring.  They represent everything that is great about the people of Afghanistan. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, shared a little bit about ourselves, and enjoyed each other's company.  I don't mind saying that being surrounded by such vibrant young people and their infectious laughter made me a bit homesick.

I could have listened to Ted all evening.  Its clear that Ted is very proud of the personal and educational achievements of his students and the students certainly love Mr. Ted.  Ted explained to the other guests and I that SOLA is not only the name of the school but it also means "Peace" in Pastu and happens to be a girl's name.  SOLA's goal is to prepare the very best Afghan students for study in the U.S. and abroad so that they may return home to become future leaders of Afghanistan. SOLA places special emphasis on creating the conditions for ambitious young women to pursue their studies

Ted spoke with great pride about the current students and SOLA'S graduates.  One of SOLA'S recent graduates was invited by the Office of the President of the United States to spend that very evening with the First Lady at the White House to celebrate International Women's Day.  Another had recently finished her first semester at Yale University and scored a perfect GPA.  Another is a Madeline Albright fellow at a prestigious American University.  Perhaps most demonstrative of the "Leadership" in SOLA is the success of another recent graduate who is a finalist for a large grant which she plans on using to continue building a school in Afghanistan.  I say 'continue building' because this remarkable graduate has been building that particular school since she was 16 years old. 

SOLA and Ross Sheppard have since been introduced and over the next few weeks the students will get a chance to meet each other over the internet to Skype and e-mail.  SOLA’s students are the future leaders of Afghanistan and it was a privilege to meet them.  I am very grateful to the staff and students at Ross Sheppard for sharing a bit of themselves with SOLA’s students. 

Please visit the websites for SOLA and Ross Sheppard:

http://www.sola-afghanistan.org/Home

http://shep.epsb.ca/

Thanks for checking in.

Ken

Yet Another First

Well I made it through my first earthquake yesterday. At about 2 pm Monday afternoon the 5.8 magnitude tremor rumbled through the Hindu Kush Mountain Range 120 kilometers below the earth’s surface.  It was my first experience with earthquakes and I won’t soon forget it.  I was working at the desk in my room on the second floor of our quarters.  My building is a two-storey structure made of steel and concrete and is solid by any measure.  Suddenly, the whole building started to shake and rattle.  The broom that stands up against the wall in my room fell to the floor and the lamp on my desk began bouncing around.  At first I didn’t know what was happening.  It felt like I was in a fifth wheel trailer at Whistler’s Campground that was getting rocked back and forth by some drunken college kids.  Once I realized that it was an earthquake my steely reflexes, honed to a razor’s edge by years of specialized police training and experience, kicked into action.  I bolted from my chair and ran out into the hallway flailing my arms like a ragdoll screaming “EARTHQUAKE!!  EARTHQUAKE!!” 

Now like I said, I’ve never experienced and earthquake before.  Apparently a 5.8 magnitude tremor 120 kilometers underground is not much of an event.  The old salty veterans that live on my floor didn’t even blink when our building shook.  Truth is that I caused more damage to the building than the tremor.  While sprinting towards the exit in my rush to preserve my own safety I kicked over a garbage can and broke a light bulb.  I never I said I made it through the earthquake gracefully but I’ll try and do better on the next one.

Today I made another trip into downtown Kabul.  On the way I saw this resident auditioning for a part in the sequel to the movie “UP”.   I think he may be the most cheerful person in all of Kabul.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

CivPol's Changing Role

I thought this might be a good opportunity to explain how Canada's Civilian Police (CivPol) Mission to Afghanistan has recently changed.  Canadian police officers have been in Afghanistan since 2005.  These officers have served primarily in Kandahar Province providing basic training to front line Afghan National Police (ANP) officers. This training included some of the basics of police recruit training but also involved going out on patrols with ANP through villages and farmlands, spending considerable time at Police Sub-Stations, and attending village meetings.  Each of these is a very dangerous proposition. Their living conditions were less than glamorous and more difficult than they'd probably care to share.  

Coinciding with the upcoming 2011 shift in the Government of Canada's military mission, the CivPol mission has also changed.  Our rotation is the first group of CivPol to work within this new mission mandate.  The job postings have shifted almost universally from Kandahar to Kabul.  Now CivPol are focused on advising and mentoring the senior ANP officers at the strategic, organizational, and tactical levels of police operations.  Identifying opportunities for training remains a priority for all CivPol members regardless of their particular assignments even within our new mandate.

For the most part this means that CivPol will not be out in the field as much as we have been in the past.  Most of us will likely not travel outside of Kabul.  We all know how dangerous Kandahar has been and continues to be.  I have only spent a few days in Kandahar and even then I never left the monstrous base.  I can tell you that it is a very different place than Kabul.  When you're on the Kandahar Air Field you know without question that you are in a war zone.  Military armoured vehicles, attack aircraft, thousands of armed soldiers, and all the other machines and noises of war surround you.  All these are also present in Kabul but seemingly to a lesser extent.

For those Canadian CivPol who lived and worked out in the field Kandahar was a tough place to serve.  It still is and we CivPol in Kabul often talk and fuss about our colleagues who are still there.  Their professionalism and accomplishments have earned Canada a great deal of respect and credibility by our Afghan and NATO partners.  Our invitation to counsel the ANP senior ranks is largely a testament to those Canadian CivPol who slugged it out in Kandahar.  Their's was, and continues to be, a difficult job, and a job well done.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.