INSPIRING AFGHANS SHAPE THE FUTURE OF AFGHANISTAN

By

Humaira Ghilzai

My latest visit to Afghanistan was to attend to business relating to Afghan Friends Network, which I co-founded twelve years ago. I spent six days in meetings with administrators and students we serve through our programs in Ghazni, Afghanistan.

Those were the best six days of my three week trip.

Afghan Friends Network partners with local educators in Ghazni Province to help students in grades 7-12 with math, physics, chemistry, biology and english. AFN currently has two Khurasan Learning Centers (KLC) for girls and one for boys. We serve over 750 students.

The current science, math and English curriculums in the overcrowded and understaffed schools in Ghazni Province are dismal. Most schools have short school days in order to accommodate the large number of students in need of education. In a typical year at a public school, teachers are able to cover about half of the curriculum for that grade. The result is that most students aren’t able to gain a good understanding of the covered subjects. Girls are particularly impacted because of the historical lack of access to basic education.

Historic Ghazni towers. Photo by Aref Yaqoubi

By providing students with dedicated coursework in science, math and English they are able to perform better in school. We also found they are better prepared for Afghanistan’s college entry exams for the 55,000 coveted spots available in Afghanistan universities.  To put this in perspective here is a little data. In January of 2015 over 460,000 high school graduates took the Konkor exam (similar to SAT). Only 55,000 students were placed in public universities without a tuition. Around 70,000 students were accepted to two-year colleges. This leaves 335,000 students with no options and a hopeless future. Private universities are advertised all over Kabul but they are expensive and not readily available in the provinces.  

Our brave scholarship students who attend University in Kabul

In AFN we look for solutions not problems. Of course we were thrilled to see that our graduating students at the KLCs, with improved understanding of certain subjects and assistance in college entrance exams were acing the Konkor exam. They were able to secure competitive spots in medical, engineering and other coveted programs, but many of them were not able to attend university because their families didn’t have the bus fare to send them to Kabul. That is when we started our scholarship program.

Here I am with the boys scholarship students. The student with blacked out eyes does not want his photos on social media for security reasons. The gentleman on the far right is the AFN boys scholarship coordinator.

On this trip, I had the honor of meeting with twelve of our current scholarship students—we have eight students who have successfully graduated from University and are currently working at jobs that pay well.

Over tea, sweets and noqul (sugar covered almonds)  we discussed their families, their education and their hopes for the future.

Raheb...

It was rewarding to meet Raheb who is in his third year of pre-law and at the 92 percentile of his class. He plans to attend law school in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and once he returns to Afghanistan, he will seek a career in foreign service and diplomacy. I was blown away with his vision, confidence and clear plan for the future. I have no doubt he will one day be the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan.

Khatera...

And then there was Khatera who crashed my meeting with the university scholarship girls (I met separately with the boys) to personally plead her case for a scholarship. Here is Khatera’s story in her own words…

“There are 13 members in my family. It has been a while my father is suffering from heart disease and he is not able to work now. One of my brothers was kidnapped by unknown people and they killed him after 20 days. My family economic situation is very bad.

I was in 7th grade when me and my friends were attending Khurasan Center. I was studying preparation for (college entry) exam and I had a computer class too. After working very hard and by the help of Khurasan Center, I attended (college entry) exam and I got 279. I was accepted in Kabul University majoring Computer Science but I was not able to fulfill my university expenses.

I am hoping to receive scholarship this year from AFN so that I can continue my lessons, it will be great help for me, I will be very happy and thankful. Please reconsider me for scholarship this year because I really need to attend my classes.”

Needless to say, the AFN board couldn’t turn down Khatera’s personal and written plea. She is now the sixteenth member of our scholarship program.

Meeting these young students were the highlight of my trip. It’s mind boggling to think that we are transforming these young people’s lives with a $50 stipend during the nine month school year.

Without this stipend, most of them would not be able to leave their villages in Ghazni to attend university in the “far away city” Kabul.

After meeting these young students, I came back with a renewed hope for Afghanistan’s future. If you want to sponsor one of our scholarship students drop a note at info@afghanfriends.net. We’ll send you the booklet on our scholarship program along with details on each student. I hope their determination and vision gives you hope, too.

AFGHAN FOOD DOCUMENTARY BY FOOD SAFARI

By Humaira

I'm a stickler for details when it comes to portrayal of Afghan food and culture. I've turned off TV shows when the Afghan characters are dressed like a Pakistani or cringe at parties when people say "Afghani" instead of Afghan. I've been known to get a twitch on my face when people insist that Afghan palau dish is brown rice.

Needless to say, when I found the "Food Journey Afghanistan" a documentary by Maeve O'Maera the host of an Australia television series, called Food Safari, I knew I was in for a journey of torture. Food Safari highlights culinary delights of specific regions of the world in each episode.

With a cup of chamomile tea nearby, as a relaxant, I sat in front of my computer screen with arms crossed - ready to find mistakes. To my delight, I found none. She interviews a series of fabulous Afghan cooks who are residents of Australia and are extremely well versed in talking about Afghan food. Phew!

I loved the video so much that I had to share it with you, my fellow Afghan food enthusiasts. Thanks a million to the delightful Maeve for putting this beautiful documentary together and giving Afghan food the visibility it deserves. 

Watch the Food Journey Afghan - Documentary by Food Safari

DE AFGHANAN KEBAB HOUSE IN SF RIVALS FREMONT ORIGINAL

The Examiner Article  - Sunday April 27, 2014 

By Alex Hochman

Urban-dweller confession time: I have a bit of a Fremont problem. Wife out of town with the kids? I'll just scoot across the Dumbarton Bridge to Fremont. Need to buy some new clothes? Let's head to the Great Mall near, um, Fremont. Saturday afternoon with no plans? Fremont.

The real reason for my fascination lies not in the town's beauty or culture (sorry, Fremont.) It's the kabobs. The Afghan kabobs, to be exact.

Closet-sized De Afghanan Kabob House has been one of my secret hideouts ever since my longtime friend, Afghan cooking blogger Humaira Ghilzai, told me about it years ago.

To say that I was excited to learn that Da Afghanan Kabob House was opening a new branch on Geary Street, a mere 2 miles from my house, would be an understatement. But with the niece and nephews of the original owner in charge, would it be as good? I asked Humaira to join me to find out.

We began with potato bolani: slightly crispy, a tad greasy and totally addictive. Swabbing each rectangular slice with a bit of the accompanying tart, housemade yogurt, I plowed through the large order almost on my own while thinking aloud to Humaira how much this onion-laden flatbread reminded me in flavor of a thicker, denser potato knish I once devoured in Brighton Beach, N.Y.

Mantu, the ravioli-like dish of pasta stuffed with spiced ground beef and capped with yogurt and mint, made for another stellar starter, as did the little complementary bowls of shor nakhad, diced potatoes and garbanzo beans tossed with a shocking green cilantro sauce. This alone would make for a perfect lunch on a hot day.

The undisputed stars of the show, though, were the kabobs. Humaira considers a kabob's tenderness to be the main indicator of whether the kitchen is in good hands, and the meats here passed with flying colors.

I rarely get turned on by poultry, but at this spot, the char-broiled, orange-hued hunks of chicken breast were impossibly juicy, the result of an overnight marinade.

Equally luscious was the tekka kabob, tender wedges of tri-tip cooked to a perfect pink on the inside and aggressively seasoned. Co-owner Jay Fedaiy played coy when questioned about spices and marinades, revealing only that, "Over the years, some things have been added and some things have been subtracted." He at least admitted to using plenty of onions and garlic.

For the ultimate taste test, I drove one night to the Fremont location (yes, again) to sample my favorite, the chaplee kabob, patties of ground beef, egg and chopped onion with a dash of red pepper flakes. The following evening, I had the same item for dinner on Geary. Both versions would be the hamburger of my dreams if stuffed between a few slices of bolani (mental note: idea for food truck?), but, if pressed, I'd give the slight nod to the newcomer. Its kabobs were a bit moister with a more pronounced fiery kick.

A sense of deja vu comes with good reason. A few years ago, another relative also opened an outpost of De Afghanan Kabob House just around the corner on Polk Street that quickly shuttered. Here's to a more successful run for this new incarnation. It's saving me some serious gas money.