When I first became interested in developing a new non-profit organization, I knew that to work with children and families in Afghanistan it would be imperative to travel there. The more I read and studied about the Afghan people, particularly the Pashtun Afghan people and culture, I became fascinated with this unique and beautiful part of the world. I was saddened by the degree of suffering and poverty that existed there. I was also shocked by the long history of violence that seemed to be a constant part of the history of Afghanistan.
But getting there, I knew, was important, in order to make contact and establish relationships with individuals or groups within the country, who were familiar with and were a part of the culture and customs.
I was very lucky to have been introduced to several NGO's and organizations that were just beginning to re-emerge and work again in Afghanistan. Several were cordial and willing to assist us with the logistical challenges of travel, accomodations, introductions to local schools and community leaders.
Our primary contact was the Abdul Haq Foundation, based in Peshawar, Pakistan at the time, the home of the late Abdul Haq, an Afghan mujahadeen fighter well known and respected within the Afghan community, who had been killed in October of 2001. His brother Haji Qadir, the governor of Nangarhar Province and Vice-President under the new interim Afghan government, had also recently been assasinated in Kabul, and the family was in mourning as we had prepared for our trip. We had nevertheless been invited to stay at the Abdul Haq guest house in Peshawar and graciously offered assistance with accomodations and logistical support into Afghanistan.
Our first trip over the Khyber Pass and into Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the first major city traveling West between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was memorable and in many ways indescribable. The United States and allied military forces had recently entered the country, and it was only as of November 2001 that westerners were allowed into the country. Thousands upon thousands of returning Afghan refugees were traveling back into the country. The roads were teeming with buses, trucks, cars and taxis loaded with people and belongings returning to their homeland.
