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
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
