Afghanistan — Month Three (Part 1)

Hi everyone, it’s about time for another monthly post. This will be another two part post, and I will follow it very shortly with images from South Africa. Anna and I will be there for a vacation. One of the benefits of being on such a long deployment is that we get to take a short break in the middle. But, enough of that, on with the Afghan pictures.
I have been continuing my effort to learn the language and immerse myself into Afghan culture. I really do enjoy it and the more I know, the better I can perform my job.

This photogenic gentleman was in Kapisa province.

I really like this image. These boys are in a Kabul bakery. If you look close, you can see a lot through the window, and on the window.

This man was in downtown Kabul, watching the traffic pass by.

I also had fun with a macro lens. This is the Dari word for day, shanbe.

Macros are fun because even something as mundane as my keyboard makes for decent fodder.

In order to build the capacity of construction companies in the region, we tailored a training class for them. The result was very positive. Not only are these companies very hungry for work (and the resulting paycheck), but also for knowledge. We immediately saw improvement in the proposals submitted for projects, which is an encouraging sign.
These next few images are people who were at the training.




Although he’s a contractor, this man should run for politics. He gave a fiery speech to lament the vast requirements levied upon contractors (i.e. they have to do lots of coordination with a government they don’t often trust). At the conclusion, he got a rowdy applause.

This camel was toting goods through one of the main markets in Kapisa.

More market images…

These little tuk-tuk type vehicles are all over the place. They appear to be quite useful.

Little red riding hood.
The next few images are more interesting Afghan people.




Just along for the ride.


I love the multi-color doors that every compound has.

And the contrast that color has with the landscape.

Of course, one of my main jobs is to go out and inspect projects. If you look close at this one, you can see there were a lot of problems with the brickwork. Fortunately, again, the contractor was very receptive to our direction and made all the changes we required.

It’s very important to follow the contract directly, which is what I am confirming here. As such, it’s important to write a good contract, so we can ensure a quality product.

Lumber is fairly scarce, so these men are making their own, on site.

This is a ribbon cutting/ground breaking ceremony for one of our projects.

You don’t see any western faces here, which is a very good thing. Although we help these projects come to fruition, ultimately, they are Afghan projects. So, we make sure to involve the appropriate government officials in every stage, at the same time wiping out any chance for corruption. This builds their capacity to effectively run their country, and ideally builds the people’s trust to know that their elected and appointed government is a capable and enduring institution. It is only Afghans who can bring long term stability so many people desire.
–Jim