We finally made it to the final month, July, which marked the arrival of our replacements. So, we had a very intense few weeks trying to educate the new engineers on everything they needed to know to be successful. Perhaps the most important task was getting the engineers out to all our project sites. That was something our team didn’t get to do, so it was my top priority during the transition.
This boy was very curious to see what we were doing … inspecting one of our road projects.
As usual, southern Kapisa was a wealth of interesting sites and people.
No, this is not India, but there were cows roaming the market.
This well is very typical of the wells throughout the province. Clean drinking water was a priority, and unfortunately not enough people have access.
Jon took the opportunity while we were speaking to the contractor to speak to this group of kids. He was doing a little education and giving out small tokens (pens and paper) to the kids.
These guys were helping on one of our school projects.
Joel was being forceful with this contractor to ensure he made necessary changes to the school facility.
As usual, the valley was beautiful.
The road we’re building here will enable all forms of transportation.
Same on this road.
July was also the time to harvest the winter wheat. As you can see, they collect the wheat by hand (with a sickle), but often have a mechanical thresher.
These kids had never seen a Frisbee before, but once we showed them how to play with it, they were quite excited.
This was another one of our projects. We helped refurbish the main traffic circle in the district bazaar. Joel had the good idea to add a welcome sign. We also added another solar light. These lights stay on all night and help provide security to the shop keepers. In addition to this project, we also built a couple public restrooms for people using the bazaar, and refurnished the main mosque. These projects, while not very expensive, will provide a little improvement to the quality of life to the people who live and work in the area. Again, we target projects that are developed and prioritized by the people of the area.
The fruit of Afghanistan is absolutely delicious. Personally, my favorite are pomegranates from TagAb, and second are the Afghan mangoes. The mangoes are a little smaller than traditional mangoes, and yellow. And third, are watermelons like the ones this girl is carrying.
This is another photogenic worker on a school project.
So, that concludes my images from Afghanistan. It was an amazing year, filled with hardship and turmoil. But, also left me with hope for the future. The people, government and construction companies are all working toward a better Afghanistan. There is much work to be done and all aspects of the country need improvement. Nonetheless, I believe that we are on the right track. Development of infrastructure, in concert with improved security by Afghan security forces will spur economic and commercial growth, thereby improving the efficacy of the rule of law. Finally, these things all aid in increasing people’s faith in the ability of the government to help them. Once this happens, we as a coalition will be able to pull back and let Afghanistan continue on its path with progressively less international support.
So, my adventure in Afghanistan has come to an end. Now, I get the opportunity to return to Germany and my Anna. I can’t wait!
Until the next adventure…
–Jim
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