Field Notes – Connecting with Sayad Pascha
Kandahar, of course, is not an easy place yet determined people get things done.
Pastor Jim Short served as a padre to Canadian troops in Kandahar during 2008. As Chaplain Team Leader of the fifth rotation (ROTO#5) in Operation Athena, Padre Jim, joined an extremely active group of soldiers, focused on supporting the children of Sayad Pascha School.
Back in Canada, Padre Jim’s commitment and passion to helping the students and teachers of the school is as strong as ever. Let him describe how it began:
During the hand over from ROTO#4 to #5 – Padre Gorniak invited me to accompany he and his soldiers to the Sayad Pascha School (which is located within the KAF SecurityRoto Bubble and is where the children of the Afghan National Army soldiers – male and female go to school) where they were dropping off some parting gifts.
To say that these children immediately captured my heart is an under statement. Bright, energetic and vibrant – these children who love soccer, volleyball, many of who speak English and love to go to school and wanted to learn and have jobs and vocations that would help their country will always be in my heart.
As we went back to camp – Padre Gorniak issued a kind of challenge saying “You could do alot for this school”
As I was working as the Chaplain to the Operational and Mentoring Liason Team – who were training the soldiers and police officers of the Afghan National Security Forces – it made perfect sense. Myself and Captains Rodgers and McBride made several trips to the school area, spoke with the students and met the principal. By this time the school was a few months away from moving into a brand new building. We asked the Principal to provide us with a list of things he needed and the project was born.
Canadian soldiers eagerly came on board and began contacting family and friends at home to contribute. The Canadian Protestant Worship Service donated the sum of their many months offering.
With the advice of our Canadian Civilian advisors in the development world, we invited Skills Generation and their team to get involved and help us. I called them the “Padre’s Posse” – the group of my Canadian soldiers who threw their hearts and minds into the school project in their spare time and really made a difference. I am so proud of them.
The result was that before ROTO#5, a half a sea container of supplies and about $5000 were donated to the school and the gift was facilitated through Skills Generation. As you will read in their blog, they were able to supply the students of Sayad Pascha through participation in a CIDA grant which has freed up that money to help the school in other ways.
We took two groups of soldiers out to visit the school and students in a formal way – this enabled our female soldiers to sit and visit with the female teachers and young female students. They learned many things about the needs of the school but most important perhaps was learning that these opportunities for building relationships and sharing common experiences between the Afghans and the Canadian soldiers were most important and a great blessing to us Canadians in terms of our morale and understanding the country we had come to help.
Soldiers from the 9 Month Headquarters, the soldiers of ROTO#6 and various other Canadians working at KAF took the baton from us and working with the school they have made incredible strides in working with the Sayad Pascha School who moved into their brand new beautiful building for the school year in September 2008. Those of us who were on ROTO#5 were privileged to be there for that exciting moment.
As we speak plans are underway to explore solar power and upgrade sanitation for the school. A soccer and volleyball field is planned (these young Afghans are crazy about both sports) as is a playground plus some engineering projects that will beautify the area around the school and make it safe for the students from the perils and debris of war.
So here is my invitation to those of you who are reading this wherever you are – find a way to help out and the best way to do that is to send a gift of money.
A dollar sent to Skills Generation be it for their larger work with schools in the Kandahar region or for the Sayad Pascha School goes along way. It purchasing power is greater in Afghanistan and it blesses in two ways – it helps stimulate the local economy if items can be purchased there and it directly blesses the school.
Please – though it is tempting – do not send items by mail. It may be something that is not needed and the added costs of transportation – consider the carbon footprint – in the end is self defeating.
So – divert a small portion of your Christmas gift giving to Skills Generation. Plan a fund raiser – small or large in the new year with your church, your Scout group, your military unit, your neighborhood – what ever…every dollar helps…
In doing this – you are supporting three important groups of people – you are supporting first and foremost the education of the Afghan children. In the establishment of a country which is safe for all of its citizens and in which people may choose freely the kind of government they wish to have – the education of this generation of Afghan children is absolutely crucial. Your gift to Skills Generation will help that important effort.
Secondly, you support Skills Generation and its staff – some of who are Canadians and some of whom are local Afghans who have received employment. We often think of our Canadian soldiers as being brave but I can tell you that these people who are risking their lives for development are brave as well.
Thirdly, you are supporting the work of our Canadian soldiers who have adopted this school project to do on their own time – alongside their military duties and are very committed. By supporting this project – you support them and if you ever wondered how to help them out – this is the way. One of our young female soldiers appropriately pointed out to me when I was leaving the fact that many Canadian soldiers get lots of gifts from Canada and even in KAF – we want for very little. Would it not be great she said – if instead of sending us parcels and gifts that we don’t really need – people sent money to Skills Generation to help this important project.
Well – that’s how it all began. Look what’s been accomplished and yet there is still so much to do. Those children will remain in my heart for ever and I pray that their dreams for education will be realized and that one day they will be the doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, technicians, merchants, government officials who help createthe kind of country they dream of…
As it says in the ancient proverb – “Blessed are those who plant trees that they will not sit under.”
Padre JIM SHORT
December 4th, 2008 – Ladner British Columbia
jim.ladner.united@dccnet.com