B*N*S*N4

Abdul Rahman Panjshiri speaks to the crowd during a ground-breaking ceremony for the $130,000 Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse, Aug. 20, 2008, in the Rokha district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province. Panjshiri donated the land for the school. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Jillian Torango, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team

Afghan Family Donates Land for New Girls’ School

By Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2008 – On a hillside overlooking the picturesque stepped farmlands of the Rokha district in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, a small group of people attended a ground-breaking ceremony Aug. 20 for the $130,000 Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse.

Hajji Kabiri, the province’s deputy governor, and Zolmaid Shahid, the provincial director of education, were among those on hand. Of special importance was the attendance of Abdul Rahman Panjshiri; he and his wife donated the land for the school.

Panjshiri, as his name indicates, is originally from Panjshir. His wife’s family had to leave the province when she was a girl so she could continue with school and get a good education.

Panjshiri said he and his family took asylum in the Netherlands during the Taliban regime, but he always knew he wanted to come back to Afghanistan.

“When the Taliban fell and I decided to come back to Afghanistan, some of my family was not happy with me,” he said. “My three sons even did not come back with me, but my wife and daughter did, and we now live and work in Kabul.”

This is a GREAT B*N*S*N story on so many levels. :) Go read the rest here.