Hope in Afghanistan

09/09/2011

Stories are among our most potent tools for restoring the land as well as our relationship to land. We need to unearth the old stories that live in a place and begin to create new ones, for we are storymakers, not just storytellers.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Botanist and Author

Ten years ago terrorist attacks drove pain and fear into the hearts of all Americans. On Sunday, September 11, Americans will solemnly look back at the awful events of that day.

At the 2011 World Forum participants learned how the scourge of terrorism and war has impacted the nation of Afghanistan. Sakena Yacoobi, leader of the Afghan Institute of Learning, shared with the 800 delegates from 76 countries how her native land has been destroyed by 30 years of armed conflict. In her moving presentation she talked about how the majority of Afghan citizens live in poverty — never knowing from day to day if they will have something to eat. And, she described how, under the rule of the Taliban, education had to be conducted in underground schools.

But with all the sadness of her descriptions, Yacoobi left us with a feeling of hope. She proclaimed that early childhood education is the way the impoverished and victimized people of Afghanistan will rebuild their nation. She talked about preschools where children now play and learn, and about the 6 million Afghan children learning in schools.

The entire plenary presentation of Yacoobi can be viewed on at www.WorldForumFoundation.org.

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