Dear World: Messages of hope and inspiration from Afghanistan

Dear World: We are equal. Photo: Grace Chung

The harsh taste of dust in the air, the whirring sound of helicopters circling above, armoured military convoys speeding past horse-drawn fruit carts. This is Kabul — a major waypoint along the old silk route; a crossroads between the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, the former Soviet states and the Far East.

You don’t need to spend much time here to realise that in Afghanistan, everyone has a story to tell. Stories about the people, their hopes for the future of their country — for peace and development. Many are inspiring, but most go untold.

Enter Grace Chung, a postgraduate student at Harvard who spent a summer interning at Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications provider. She had witnessed first-hand the positive impact of Roshan’s social welfare programmes on communities in Afghanistan, and she could see glimmers of hope and a level of determination among beneficiaries that had gone unnoticed by the rest of the world.

While at Roshan, Chung came up with an idea to help draw attention to the ordinary people in Kabul. She decided to implement a Dear World campaign.

Dear World: Sharing time and knowledge. Photo: Grace Chung

Dear World is a global movement that gives voice to people’s messages through stark yet compelling photography. Having started in post-Katrina New Orleans, the movement’s distinct portraiture became a signpost for human inspiration.

On the face of it, Chung’s plan was simple enough — collate a selection of messages and share them with a global audience. However the logistics proved more complex, especially in a city like Kabul. The challenges included identifying participants, arranging to meet them and complying with the stringent security regulations in the region.

Fortunately the stars aligned and Chung was able to photograph a number of participants from various organisations. Roshan Community, the corporate social responsibility arm of Roshan, facilitated the gatherings as part of their commitment to support and empower communities.

Dear World: I like the environment to be clean. Photo: Grace Chung

At each photo-shoot, there was an air of excitement. Participants — some as young as nine years old — came up with their own messages without any help from others. Timidity gave way to boldness, as the initiative gave them a sense of empowerment.

Through the Dear World project, participants had opportunity to articulate their aspirations and share them with a wider audience. It also encouraged them to craft positive, inspirational messages and bond around common dreams, while feeling valued and satisfied that their voices could be heard.

Despite suffering the ravages of conflict, poverty and insecurity, participants looked to the future with optimism and determination. They envisaged something better, refusing to accept the status quo. Even young girls came forward to have their photos taken and share their messages with the world.

Glimpsing into people’s hopes and aspirations, Dear World Afghanistan revealed a common will to strive for a bigger and brighter future. Most importantly it gave voice to some of the many stories that the people of Afghanistan had been waiting to tell.

Diyana’s story

Dear World: I want to become a doctor (Diyana). Photo: Grace Chung

Diyana sits at the back of the classroom, a reticent expression on her face. Even as her classmates compete for attention, she remains preoccupied with her own thoughts. She has plenty to contribute to the discussion, but her voice is often drowned out by the boys, who outnumber the girls four to one.

But Diyana is confident and content. She dreams of a future when her views will be sought after. One day —Diyana hopes — she will be a doctor.

Afghanistan suffers from a lack of female professionals, especially in healthcare. The country’s maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. If Diyana realises her dream, she will be able to serve her community and contribute to improving the quality of life of the people of her country.

Diyana goes to school through Aschiana, an Afghan NGO that has provided services and support to street working children and their families for close to ten years. It services close to 3,500 children, including 680 in a school sponsorship programme.

Satar’s story

Dear World: Nothing is impossible (Satar). Photo: Grace Chung

It’s 6:00 PM on a Thursday — the end of the work week in Afghanistan. As other employees at the Roshan call centre grab their bags and head for the exit, Satar is just arriving. He works the evening shift, having spent the day at English classes, studying for the TOEFL — a test of English language proficiency.

Despite having been unsuccessful three times previously, Satar is not deterred. In order to be accepted into university, he needs to pass the exam, and he is willing to do what it takes.

As a teenager, Satar spent a number of years fixing computers after school, outdoors in the cold, using a diesel generator as the sole source of energy. This helped buy books and support the education of his siblings. His family have lived through difficult times, but they have worked hard to stay above the poverty line.

Satar has big plans for the future. He would like to study Business and wants to manage a large team. While he recognises that the odds are stacked against him, he draws inspiration from his faith. In order to succeed, he says he would prefer to struggle now while he is young, rather than later in life. To Satar, nothing is impossible.

Satar works at Roshan, a project company of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. Roshan believes that businesses have a powerful role to play in building communities. It sees itself as a catalyst for growth and socio-economic development in Afghanistan through its commercial operations and its corporate social responsibility programmes.

Merza and Fazila’s stories

Dear World: I love skateboarding (Merza). Photo: Grace Chung

In a state-of-the-art dome on the outskirts of the city, children on skateboards glide across the wooden boards, pulling stunts as they go by. Skateistan is an NGO run by volunteers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. They see skateboarding as a tool for empowerment in Afghanistan, where the sport previously didn’t exist.

Merza used to wash cars during the freezing winters in Kabul. He joined Skateistan to escape from the conflict around him and two years later, is now the facility manager at the skate park. While maintaining equipment and encouraging younger children to take part, Merza is also learning how to manage teams and projects, building capacity in preparation for a brighter future.

As a child, Fazila used to spend her days selling chewing gum on the streets of Kabul, skipping school in order to make some money for her family. Now 14, she works part-time at Skateistan, which enables her to attend classes while providing an income for her family.

Dear World: Skate 4 Afghanistan (Fazila on the right). Photo: Grace Chung

The facility has opened a number of doors for her. Fazila recently returned from the San Patrignano skateboarding event in Italy, where she represented Afghanistan as part of a team of four girls. It was her first time outside of the country, her first time on an airplane and the first time she got to see the ocean.

Now she is an instructor to younger girls, encouraging them to attend school and teaching them how to skate. Fazila hopes for a future of peace and freedom in the country, and would like one day to be the director of Skateistan.

A Kabul-based NGO, Skateistan sees skateboarding as a tool for empowerment. Working with male and female youth, it provides facilities where they can come together to skateboard, forge bonds that transcend social barriers, and affect change on issues that are important to them.

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