Ar#cles in this series, en#tled, “Enduring Connec#ons,” highlight the lives of people who aredevotedtothebe<ermentoftheworld. Weare connectedthroughourhopesforthe futureandourrela#onshipswiththepeopleinothercountries,especiallyAfghanistan.

Leaving a Legacy: Ted Achilles, Jr. By Terry Dougherty, RPCV Afghanistan 1973 - 1975

“Solu&onstoAfghanistan’so2enseeminglyintractableproblemswillcomefromeducatedAfghans,especiallyAfghanwomen,andcannotbeimposedfromoutside.”

~TedAchilles,2010

PublishedbyFriEnds of Afghanistanwww.afghanconnec#ons.org

Ambassador Hakimi in September 2011,Friends of Afghanistan awarded TedAchilles the first ever Starfish Award forhis work with Afghan YES students andco-founding SOLA (School of LeadershipA f g h a n i s t a n ) . Who is this Ted Achilles? Hegrew up in afamilyheadedbyTheodoreAchilles, Sr., who was a career diplomatcalled one of the "fathers of NATO"because of his work negoOaOng thecreaOon of that organizaOon. AQer Tedgraduated from Yale in 1958, he joinedtheUSArmywhere he aWended InfantryOfficer'sSchoolandqualifiedasan...

I first met Ted Achilles at the40+1 Reunion of the Peace Corps inWashington, DC aQer the 40th reunionplanned for late September 2001 hadbeencancelled.TedwassibngwithLouisMitchell (Peace Corps Afghanistan,Country Director) in a corner of theAfghanGrillwhereFriendsofAfghanistanhad gathered to kick-off the reunionweekend. Louis introduced Ted as hisfriendwhowasgebngreadyto leaveforAfghanistan to seewhat kindofbusinessopportuniOeshecoulddevelop. ThenextOmeI heardofTedwaswhenTonyAgnello(PCVAfghanistan)toldme thatRandyBiggers(PCVAfghanistan)was the officer at the State Departmentwho was sebng up the Youth Exchangeand StudyYESprogram that would bringAfghanhighschoolstudentstotheUSfora year of studybeginning in 2004. Ted

>> CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Membership ByBetsyAmin-Arsala

caravan44@aol.com! People are remembering to paytheir dues at the beginning of the year perlast year’s membership guidelines of FoA.Ninety-eight FoA members contributed$3,882! Thankyou! These folksare: JimPoplack, Hazel Hardiman, Bob/LeeleeDevenney,BeWy Jordan,Louisa Magzanian,M. Hassan Alief, Andrew Husky, FrankBaldwin, Blair Brainard, Bridget O’Connor,William Plummer, Cheryl Stetler, DavidCarroll, Jane Willard, Howard Goldman,Walter Blass, Barry Weiss, James Keane,Thomas Grant, William MiWendorff, StuartSchmidt, NancyBenson, Jan Hardy, JosephGoss, Noel Klebaum, Jonathan Cohanne,William Loughner, Phil Grant, PhyllisHeffron, William WiW, Monica Choi, MarcTolo,DonaldSauer,CarolSvendsen,ThomasSonnemann, Jacquelyn Davidson, RobertBirkmeyer, James de Maine, Daniel Lutz,Autumn Hu, Judith Leauby, Diane Sakai-Furuta,PeggyWilson,BrianJohnson,DonaldWaWs, Randal & Bonnie Thie Cowart, KurtNelson, Suzanne Johnson, Frances Connell,JordanSchneider, PatGurevitch,PatNyhan,

NormanRosen,SuzanneSmith,JohnZiegler& ChrisOne White-Ziegler, Carol Anderson,Stephen Smith,PamWheeler,BeWyJoVanGelder,JanReimer,MargaretBubon-Smith,Marshall French, Mary Enright, Carolyn/John Vann, Beth Jones, Jack Pace, Bruce/DanaFreyer,MikeAlbin, PhilSmith,LenoreSherida, Suzanne Zaw, Bob Price, LouisePascale, Russell Gamage, Robert vonZumbusch, Richard/Candace Dermody,Lawrence/Mary Ann Heeren, SuzanneHallum, James/Pamela Wheeler, Ralph/Marie Jackson, Diana Guyer, Lish/BarbWhitson, KrisOna Engstrom, Cathie/ClarkeKeenan, Jo Bonnin, Jake Hautaluoma,William Veazie, Joe Rice, Douglas Head,Kathe Conrad, Joanne Allen, Terry & JeanKeir,AndrewUlitsky, JudyRath,ChetOrloff,Dorothy Gorman, Khan Alami, RosalindPace, Katherine Long,MelissaMoncavage,Mark Astor, Dennis Aronson, CharlesArnold, Frank Brechin, Patrick Pinkson-Burke, Phil Eberle, Leila Poullada, CharlesCranford, Tom Schild, Georgia Joyal, JohnNiemitz, Timothy McNeill, John Soden,Robert Dietrich, David Benson, JoanneAllen,ThomasKralandDonYager.Yourcontribu&onssupportourwork!

Spring2017

P4-6EradicaAngSmallpoxbyCarolBeecher,WalterBlass,&JillVickers

P7PeaceCorpsConnectDenverbyJanWest

Achilles was to be the program directorforAmericanCouncilswhowouldhiretheAfghanstaffandselectthestudents.Tonyand I signed up to work with the YESprogram to find host families andcoordinate the studentarrivals to stay intheUnitedStates.MynextmeeOngwithTed was when I stayed at the AmericanCouncilsofficeinKabulaQer Ichaperonedthe2004-05 YESstudentson their returnto Afghanistan. Thusbegan afriendshipt h a t p e r s i s t s t o t h i s d a y . Friends of Afghanistan haspartneredwith Ted Achilles’s projects inAfghanistanever since.WhenTedreOredfrom American Councils in 2008 andopened the School of LeadershipAfghanistan (SOLA),wehelped him raiseoperaOng funds and obtain computersand providedother support. At the50threunion recepOon hosted by Afghan

P 1 - 2, 7 LeavingaLegacy:TedAchilles,Jr.byTerryDougherty

P3Join“TheAlliance”byTonyAgnello

Board of DirectorsPresident:TonyAgnello

VicePresident NancyCunningham

ChiefofOperationsTerryDougherty

&Membership

Treasurer PhilSmith

Secretary&

NewsletterEditorJanWest

CulturalAffairsBetsyAmin-Arsala

OutreachCoordinatorBaktashAhadi

“Enduring Connections”

Editor’s Tiny Corner: Thanks toeveryone who made this issue possible,especiallyJillVickers&Carol Beecherforsharing the vaccinator stories; to TerryDoughtery for his arOcle about TedAchilles,Jr.; toTonyAgnello for hisFoAarOcle; to Betsy Amin-Arsala for themembership report. Thanks to all whosent in Links to share with our readers.Welovehearingfromyouandappreciateyourinterest!

Pleasesendyour comments,sugges#ons,o r a r # c l e s f o r p u b l i c a # o n t ojan@aghanconnecOons.org.

Friends of Afghanistanc/oTerryDougherty4415 Piazza CircleFort Wayne, IN 46804

Change Service Requested

Many YES alumni and privatescholarship winners subsequently enteredhighly ranked, undergraduate colleges anduniversi=es in the US with exemplaryacademic/leadership achievements andgraduatedegrees. Senior posi=onsare currentlyheldby YES alumni in Kabul in secondaryeduca=on, public health and electricalengineering(KabulUniversity). Iresigned asCountryDirector June2008 due to inability to influence theprogram’s DC-based headofficethatunlesspriority aPen=on was paid to assis=ngreturning studentsto find jobsand preparecollege applica=ons, that con=nuousdefec=onstoCanadahad tobeacceptedasagiven.TheYESprogramwassubsequentlycloseddownin2010bytheUSAmbassadorforthisreason. Co-Founder/DirectorEmeritusSOLA, 2008-Present. Inspired and named by asuccessfulYESstudentwhiles=lla junior incollege,SOLA opened its doors on October1, 2008 to four female students. Quo=ngf r o m t h e w e b s i t e w w w . s o l a -afghanistan.org:

“TedhasalivinglegacyinthelivesoftheyoungAfghanshehascaredforandmentoredalongtheway.Heistrulyafaithfulfriend.” ~TerryDougherty

PAGE2

Airborne Ranger. He then went to Tu_sUniversity Fletcher School of Interna=onalLawandDiplomacy,gradua=ngwithanMAinEconomicsin1962.Fromthere, hespentthe next decade working in interna=onalbanking.Hestarted a25-yearcareerasanentrepreneurandbusinessman,successfullyturning around several companies, servingtwo terms in theOregon State Legislaturewhile raisinga family of five children. Hefirstre=redin1996. A_er "failingre=rement,"Tedsayshe entered into a "re=rement career ofchoice." He took a two-month trip toAfghanistan in 2002 at the sugges=on ofLouis Mitchell. That led to his decision toreturntoliveandworktherefromFebruary2003toFebruary 2015.Duringthat=me, inaddi=ontohisworkwithAmericanCouncilsasthecountrydirector of theYESprogramand co-founding SOLA (along with formerYES student Shabana Basij-Rasikh), he co-founded the Kabul office of PaxtonInterna=onal. Healso servedasadirectoroftheAbdulMajidZabuli(AMZ)Founda=onwherehemanagedthedevelopmentoftheEduca=onal Support and DevelopmentOrganiza=on of Afghanistan (ESDOA). HereiswhatTedhasto sayabouthis work in Afghanistan: Co-Founder,Paxton InternaBonal – Kabul ,2003-2008.In 2003, I opened the Kabul office of thisglobal freight forwarder with one truckdriver.In2005hiredandbegantrainingtheAfghan who assumed full Profit & Lossresponsibility for the company in 2009.

Ted Ach i l l e s , Jr . . . .>> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Paxton now has 50 employees withrevenuesinexcessof$8m.Itdominatesitsmarket sector with a consistent focus ontraining and selng a global industrystandardfor qualityservice. Thecompanygenerates consistently strong margins.[Ted does not hold an ownership interestand has not been ac=ve in the companysinceJanuary2009.] Country Director, Afghanistan for YouthExchange & Study (YES) Program2004-2008. Iac=velyrecruited10th gradeAfghan boys/girls frommul=ple provincesfor one-year StateDepartment-funded YESscholarships and private founda=onprogramsin USpublic andprivateschools.The Afghan students selected performedexcep=onallywellacademicallyandsociallyacross the board. Diversitywas achievedthrough recrui=ng from 14 provinces in2004 to 21 provinces in 2008 with mosttraveldonebyautomobile.2,000to3,000students took the ini=al test each year.They went through 4 increasingly difficultsteps to final interviewsfor approximately240 students fromwhich 40 finalistswereselected. While gender equality was amajor goal, parental hesita=on aboutsending daughters to America for highschoollimitedthefemalepar=cipa=on ratetoanaverageofabout40%.

PAGE7

”TheSchoolofLeadership,AfghanistanisanAfghan-led, private school for Afghan girls,thefirst of itskind inAfghanistan. SOLA’smissionistoprovideAfghangirlsa rigorouseduca=on that promotes cri=cal thinking,asense of purpose,and respect for self andothers...SOLA, which is a Pashto wordmeaning “peace,” seeks to represent allethnic groups andprovinces inAfghanistan.To date SOLA students have enrolled from22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.”SOLA has grown from 4 students to 42,twenty-fiveofwhomare6th gradeboardinggirlswhowillstayatSOLAthrough the12thgrade with a new 6th grade class enrolledeach year. Theschool’s strategicplan is tohaveitsowncampustohouse340boardingstudents, represen=ng all of Afghanistan’sprovinces. SOLA’stemplate forsuccessis directly =ed to being Afghan-led by itsyoung,college-educated,President/CEOanditsBoard Chairman. Both are in theirmid-twen=es. Suppor=ng these leaders is apowerful Board and AdvisoryBoard whosemembers are deeply commiPed Afghans,A fghan-Amer i cans , Amer i cans andEuropeans. There is a strongly heldconsensus that one needs to take agenera=onal perspec=ve to mee=ng one’sgoalsinthishighlychallengingenvironment.Solu=ons to Afghanistan’s o_en seeminglyintractable problems will come fromeducated Afghans, especially women, andcannot be imposed f rom outs ide .Director, Abdul Madjid Zabuli (AMZ)FoundaJon (West Palm Beach, FL) 2009 -Present. TheAMZFounda=onwasformedto manage the estate of the late AbdulMadjid Zabuli (1890-1994). Hiswealthwasthe result of successful entrepreneurialpursuits in Russia (before the OctoberRevolu=on),inGermany(beforeWorldWarII)andinAfghanistan,whereheinauguratedthe commercial banking system andfounded his country’s Central Bank, DaAfghanistanBank.Ac=vi=esincludesupportforMBAscholarshipsatAmericanUniversityof Afghanistan and on-going support for anon-profit maternity clinic in Kabul that

Photo: Ted, front right,withgroupofSolacechildren & parents who are depar=ng formedicaltreatmentintheUnitedStates.

LeNPhoto: SOLAstudents &TedwelcomeLouise Pascale, Songbook Project Director,(RPCV1966-68)toAfghanistanwithflowers.

charges nominal feeswith current pa=entlevelsofapproximately1,000amonth. ManagingDirector,EducaJonal Support &Development OrganizaJon of Afghanistan(Kabul),2014–Present.ESDOAistheAMZF o u n d a = o n ’ s n o n - g o v e r nme n t a lorganiza=on licensed to represent itsinterests in Afghanistan, currently in theforma=on stage. Mission: “To provideeduca=onal opportuni=es and economicenhancement to rural Afghans, especiallywomen.” InconcludingmystoryaboutTed, itisimportanttoremember Ted’sconnec=ontoLouMitchellwhohadhopedtoreturntoAfghanistan,buthesentTedwhenhisownhealthpreventedhimfromgoing.Hechosethe right man to send in his place. AfavoritequoteofTed's is: "Donot followwhere the path may lead, go insteadwhere there is no path and leave atrail.” IhavebeenTed'sdistantsidekickandadmirerfor15yearsnow.Alongtheway, Io_en jokedwithTed about himbeing theLone Ranger. There were =mes when Ireplied, "Yes, kemosabe," as we wereplanning the next expenditure for SOLAwithoutknowingwhere themoneywouldcome from. It is said that kemosabemeans "faithful friend" in the language ofthePotawatomi, atribefromIndiana.TedhasalivinglegacyinthelivesoftheyoungAfghans he has cared for and mentoredalongtheway. Heistrulyafaithful friend.Ted's work in Afghanistan is a livingexample of what the Persian poet,Ferdowsiفردوسی said in theShahnamaشاهنامه EpicofKings,HeroTalesofAncientPersia: “The purpose of the Hero(Pahlavan) who seeks to lead a nobleexistence is to fully understand thepurpose of ‘Living (zenda), Loving(mahabat), Learning (danesh), Leaving agood name(nom)! ‘” Or,more simply,toLive, Love, Learn and Leave a Legacy,whichwouldbringhonortooneselfand toone'sfamilyname!

>> CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Tabrik!

Frank Light: Frankhasbeenawardedthe Da Jiao Wri=ng Award for Crea=veNon-Fic=on from the Arcturus Magazine.Hisar=cle, “Land of Light,” was about hisexperienceinNuristanduringPeaceCorpsservice in 1972 and in 2003 when hereturned as a member of a ProvincialReconstruc=on Team embedded with USMarines on an assignment with the StateDepartment. Read hisexcellent ar=cle athPps://arcturus.chireviewoyooks.com/land-of-light-913c861cce1f A sincerethankyou to Frankfor dona=ng his prizemoneytotheBamiyanTex=leProject.

Peace Corps ConnectDenver Aug. 4th - 6th

ByJanWest

hPp://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/events/peace-corps-connect-partnering-

for-progress

We’re hoping that a number ofour members from the midwest will beable to aPend the NPCA gathering thisyear. Tony Agnello and I are definitelyplanning tobe thereandperhaps anotherBoard member or two. We plan to holdourAnnualMembership mee=ngat somepointduringthiseventat theUniversityofDenver. IamalsogoingtodoaBazaarasafundraiser for FoA on Sunday, Aug. 6th,1 - 4 pm , so if any of you have nicejewelry, Afghan or personal, that you nolonger wear, you could donate it to thecause.PleasesendviathePostOfficeto: JanWest POBox30 Trinidad,CA95570If shipping with a door-to-door deliveryservice,myphysical address is470 TrinityStreet. For those of you planning toa P e n d , p l e a s e e m a i l m e :jan@afghanconnec=ons.orgsowecanseehowmany of our group will be there. Ifyouwould alsolike toworkin theBazaar,please let me know. Volunteers aregreatlyappreciated!

Ted Achilles, Jr....

My Vaccinating ExperienceBy Jill Vickers, Group XV,

Smallpox Vaccinator 1969 - 1971

salaries, supervision, Land Rovers, fuel andvehiclerepairstotheteams.Theneed forafemale team member was reduced. In my second year, I was based inJalalabad, first vaccina>ng, then doingassessmentworkinthatregion.ThatspringIspent Nowroz as a guest of the family of amuch-loved counterpart. The almond andorange blossoms spread their scent and Iwanted to spend the rest of my life there.But, back in Kabul where I rented a housewithtwoothervolunteers,Ibecamerestlesswith not working much. I resigned aFertwentymonthsand got on an overland busforIstanbulwithaheavyheart.

With a BA in English, but noeduca>on courses, I secured a long-term,subs>tute-teaching job. I wanted to workwith those less privileged, so worked in agrouphome for children in from “thebush”forservicesinAnchorage.Later,myhusbandand I moved backto theChamplain basin ofNew YorkStatewhere I wasoriginallyfrom.Iwashired to start aprogramfor “studentsatrisk”inthehighschool. It’slikelymyPeaceCorpsexperiencehelped me jump into a teaching role withconfidencein spiteofmylackofexperience.I had learned something about consideringothers’pointsofviewandthat it’snatural tobe aSached to the land of one’s roots.Overcoming people’s resistance to what Iwassurewasagoodthing,avaccina>on,wasgood prac>ce for the teaching I did withstudents turned off by school…I was sofortunate to be part of a program comingintoitsownin aplacesoincrediblybeau>fulandhospitabletoAmericans.Note: IfinterestedintheDVDdocumentary,“OnceinAfghanistan,”thestoryoftheGroupXVvaccinators(directed/editedbyJillVickers&JodyBergedick),contactJillbeforetheendoftheyear:jvickers@gmavt.net.

Join “The Alliance”By Tony Agnello. President FoA

Iwould like to offer achallenge to all of youwho areFacebookusers.FoA is a leading supporter of The Peace Corps Alliance for InterculturalUnderstanding,which was just approved as an affiliate group by the Board ofDirectors of our coordina>ng organiza>on NPCA, the Na>onal Peace CorpsAssocia>on. As an important earlystep in the growthand developmentofthisnewgroup,werequestthat allofourFoAmembersjoinus inashowofsupportforTheAlliance. Our ini>al target members are, like us, RPCVs who served inpredominantlyMuslimna>ons.WebelievethatourPeaceCorpsservice,livingashonored guests within Muslim socie>es, has provided us with dis>nc>ve andinformed viewpoints regarding some of the cu]ng edge issues that are animportantpart ofour current na>onal dialogue. “TheAlliance”will serveasaninforma>on exchange and clearinghouse for RPCVs who are interested inresearching relevant content. The material gleaned from this site cansubsequentlybeusedtomakera>onalandpersuasiveargumentsagainstracism,an>semi>sm, islamophobia and all forms of bigotry, from our uniquelyexperiencedandinformedniche. The Alliance Facebook Group Page can be found at: hSps://www.facebook.com/groups/722014717956423.PleasevisitandLikeus,Friendusand asa groupmember, shareour contentwithin your social network. If thisini>a>veresonatesfor youor ifyouknowofan individual oragroupthatwouldbeaneagerpartner,pleasebeamatchmakerand lendusyour skillsandadvice.Do you know of a persuasive script, wriSen narra>ve or a podcast or Ted-Talkpromo>nginclusionandacceptanceofdiversity?Doyouknowofanyfaith-basedorganiza>onsor secular and humanistgroupswho share these inclusive values?What about patrio>c celebri>esor poli>cianswho arewilling to speaktruth topower?Ifso,pleaseintroduceus. Send us your ideas for advocacy ini>a>ves and crea>ve funding plans.Also, consider spending a few minutes naviga>ng our website: hSp://www.afghanconnec>ons.org/ Whether it’s at home with our advocacy for The Alliance or abroadthrough our numerousoutreach projectsin Afghanistan,FoAhasmaintained anongoing, decades-long advocacy for the ci>zens of our host na>on throughsuppor>ng ventures that make a real and las>ng difference in the lives ofindividualsandsmallcommuni>es.Andremember,MondanaBoshi!"Theprimarydifferencebetweenhistory'sboldestaccomplishmentsanditsmoststaggeringfailuresisoUen,simply,thediligentwilltopersevere.”~A.Lincoln

Itwasn’t just the coldof one ofAfghanistan’s harshest winters thatnumbedmethatJanuarywhenGroupXVarrivedin Kabul. Even aFertwomonthsof daily language training, my ears andtongue didn’t cooperate in Farsi. Mynose and throat conspired to make thesheep fat soup Icameto loveimpossibleto swallow. Menin ragged clothes,bentoverundertheirburdens, turnedoffpartofmybrain. This,andmore,waspart ofthe passage from home and campus toPeaceCorpsAfghanistan.

In-country training was northover theSalangPass toKunduzwith halfthe group of women. Dressing in mysleeping bag, avoiding the dysfunc>onalbathroomasmuchaspossible, thehotelroom was wall-to-wall beds. Thehighlightwas lessonswith ateacherwhohelpedbridgetheculturegap.

Group glue, and determina>onnot to quit,keptme therethrough longdaysandnightswai>ngtobegin.Whenthe weather broke, our counterpartsemerged from where they had tried tokeep warm inroomsover thebazaar. Itwasthebeginningofacloserela>onshipwith an Afghan vaccinator who lookedoutformeaslongasIworkedupnorth.He had smallpox scars,which mayhavehelped him convince people to bevaccinated. Giving a vaccina>on issimple--hanging in there un>l one winsoverthepersonwasthework.

AFer beingsworn in,Ireturnedto Kunduzandwemoved toahotel thatwas less depressing. It was now mudseasonandworkinginthevillagesbegan.Whilewe had documents allowing us togo into an area, our arrival at a villagewas oFen unexpected and not alwayswelcome. Much of the day we spentcha]ng with local people of influencehopingtogain their coopera>on.It tooka few months un>l I was part of thediscussion inFarsi. Justhavingsomeonealong,however,“who’dcomeall thewayfrom America,” helped. I never sawAfghans l ined up wai>ng to bevaccinated. The best situa>on was a

respectedvillageleaderge]ngusinsidethewalls, past the guard dogs where thewomenandchildrenwere.

Usually I’d leave the men to mycounterpart and talk to the older women.While they had no interest in beingvaccinated, they were curious about me.They were delighted I could speak withthemand tell themwhere Iwasfrom,howoldIwasandwhymyfamilywouldallowmeto do this. Eventually, they’d relent. Ididchase some giggling women around thecompound. Since I’d played the game,they’dletmevaccinate.Toomanyof thoseupperarmswereasthinasthoseofgirls. Once dropped off at our firstvillage,we walked to the rest. Thiswasafavoritepart asI wasfreeto contemplatealandscape under cul>va>on using simpletoolsandmusclepower.Lookingoutat thevistaofmountainsandriver valleys,Iwouldexclaim, “It beau>ful.” The standardresponse,“Youreyesarebeau>ful,”becameafavoritesayingofours.

My team’s Afghan supervisor didhisbesttokeepusworking. S>lltherewasalot of down >me.The toughest waitswerein thebareofficesofself-importantofficialswhose okay was required. Another delaywasmudand 1969wasabanner year for itaFer the heavy snows. Wai>ng, I foundentertainment and s>mula>on in books,cardgamesand group singing. Tripsto thebazaarweres>llanovelty.

ByMay,afewofushadtransferredto Kandahar tojoin thesouthern group andtherestofusrentedalargeAfghanhouseinPuli Khumri. Wespreadout over itsmanybedroomsand hired a cook.Visitorswouldcomebywithmailandnews.

For another year I con>nued as avaccinator. For themost part, the Afghanteammembersweretolerantofmyculturalignorance, impa>ence and insistence thatwevaccinateeverylastperson.Besidestheobviouscamaraderieofthework,wesharedbeingfarfromourwatanorhome.

TheWorldHealthOrganiza>onhadbegun itsworldwide campaign to eradicatesmallpox before my group arrived, but itwasn’tun>lwellintoourstaythatIsawthedifference it made. WHO was ge]ng

PAGE6

Photo: TraineeMarthaHaynespracYcingonanarYficial bicep held by trainee Lynn LaFrothsupervisedbyCherylStetlerInEstesPark,CO1968.

Letters to the Editor

DearFriends, I am sending you informa>on aboutMaryMacMakin, one of the peoplemen>onedin my lecture concerning the BamiyanWeavingProject. This lady'scommitment to thewomenof Afghanistan is nothingshort of phenomenal.She inspires me daily to further advance hercause, the empowerment of thewomen in theBamiyan region of Afghanistan. It might be ofinterest toall ofyou thatat theageof80+,shehas been granted Afghan ci>zenship. To viewthisceremony,pleasegotowww.tolonews.com/afghanistan-octogenarian-granted-afghan-ci>zenship. OnApril4th, I tooktheprototypeoftheponchosto the NYC atelierofZolaykhaSherzadfor her tocri>quetheponchos,theirdesignandmarke>ngfeasibility. It was an interes>ng andeduca>onalmee>ng.TolookatZolay'swork,gotoinfo@zarifdesign.com. Onanothernote,FriendsofAfghanistananditssubsidiary,GrowingPeaceinAfghanistan,are pleased to tell you that the floor loom hasbeen delivered to Mary MacMakin in Kabul.Because of your generous dona>ons, we wereable to get the job done! I never realized thecomplica>onsofshippingaloomtoAfghanistansinceitisconsideredawarzone! InPeace,

PhilSmith,RPCV1970-72BamiyanWeavingProject

(LeSer below discovered recently, but wriSen some >meago.) Iliked yourar>cleonRayFeichtmeier...wassaddened to hearabouthistragicaccident.ThankRachelfordoingthenicear>cleonhim. I returned to Afghanistan as part of ateamsponsoredbytheDept.ofCommercetodoa feasibility study... to develop the miningindustrythere. Itwasinteres>ngand sad goingback aFer... more than 40 years. I was verysaddened to learn that theAfghan studentwholivedwith usfor ayear in1978-79haddied theChristmasbefore Iwent. HewasAtaNazar andhadbeen alanguage(Pashtu)instructor in...thetrainingprogramsIworked. ThanksforthenewsleSer.Gree>ngstooldvolunteers,staffandAfghanfriends. JackHautaluomaPS Ata was Dean of Engineering at KabulUniversitywhenhedied.

PAGE3

Paul Bitter Memorial Fund

Thankstogenerous friendswho contributed toPaul’sMemorial Fund.$500wasdonatedand wasmatchedbythe FriendsofAfghanistanBoard for a$1,000dona>on to the KhalidHosseini Founda>on in Paul’s name. SincePaulwasaFoodforWorkPCVolunteer 1972-73,theBoard decidedto contribute tothisFounda>onbecauseofitshumanitarianworkbuildingshelters forrefugees.Italso “provideseconomic opportuni>es,educa>on,and healthcare forwomenandchildrenofAfghanistan.”RestinPeace,Paul. Humanitarianworkcon>nuesonyourbehalf.

Photo:PCVCarolBeechervaccina0ngBaluchinomadsinNimrozProvincein1969.

PhotobyCarolBeecher.

“My grasp of the Farsi language was shaky at best in the first days in-country, but there was no

mistaking the meaning of the womenof a smallTurkomenvillage innorthernAfghanistanasthey

pointedtoemptycradlesandcried. The translatorconfirmedthatthebabieswhohadmostrecently

slept inthosecradles haddiedwithinthepasttwoweeksof smallpox.Theirques0onfor us: ‘Why

didn’tyoucomesooner?‘Icouldfeelacrackinmyheart.”

~PaUyMiUendorf

Eradicating Smallpox

Our Theme: For the fascina0ng storyofthe role ofPeaceCorpsintheglobaleradica,onofahumandisease forthe first,me inhistory,seethereport “Peace Corps Contribu0ons to the Smallpox Eradica0on Program,” published in 2016 by the Peace Corps. hUps://s3.amazonaws.com/

files.peacecorps.gov/documents/open-government/Peace_Corps_Global_Smallpox.pdf. See pages 30-40 for the AfghanistanCase Study, where the

accomplishment ofvaccina0ng 10millionpeople in3yearsaspart oftheWorldHealthOrganiza0on’sprogramwiththeAfghanMinistryofHealth, is

documented.Followingareexcerptsfromthereport,selec0on&paraphrasingbyJanWest.

PAGE4

From ThePeaceCorps Contribu2ons to theSmallpoxEradica2onProgram:

When WHO launched the global

Smallpox Eradica0onProgrammein1966,it

was es0mated that there were 10 million

casesofsmallpox in theworldand2million

deaths. The Soviet Union lobbied for the

WHOcampaignand providedvaccine. The

UnitedStatesandPresidentJohnson came

throughwithfundingto supportthetaskof

eradica0on in Africa and Asia, then joined

byanumberofothercountries.Intheend,

aeeranheroiceffortofseveralcoopera0ng

agencies,WHOofficiallydeclaredtheworld

free of smallpox in May 1980: This

“unprecedented achievement” in the

historyofpublic health, demonstratedthat

na0ons could work together towards the

common good in elimina0ng disease. (Dr.

A. Henderson, Smallpox, 249, 2009,Prometheus Books) “More than 3,000

years of human suffering, disfigurement,

blindness and death had finally been

broughttoanend.”(p.29)

What is Smallpox? (p. 9)“Smallpox was unique among

viruses in that it infected only humans.

Usually, transmission occurred through

face-to-face contact when an infected

person spoke or coughed, releasing

microscopicviral par0cles into theair. Any

suscep0ble person who inhaled those

par0cleswould becomethenext linkin the

human chain of infec0on andwas capable

of transmilngthevirustoothers forup to

threeweeks.

The First Group of VaccinatorsBy Carol Beecher, Group XI, RPCV Smallpox Vaccinator 1967-1969

& Walter Blass, Afghanistan Country Director 1966-1968

slavetrade—all had one thing incommon:

themovementofgroupsofpeoplecarrying

thevirustonewpopula0ons.

Oncesmallpoxtookholdinatown

or city, it struckpeasants androyaltyalike,

sparing no one who had not yet suffered

from it. Queen Elizabeth I survived the

disease in 1562, but smallpox caused

upheavals in the lines of succession in

several other monarchies, killing Emperor

Joseph I of Austria, Queen Mary II of

England,KingLouisXVofFrance, KingLuisI

ofSpain,andTsarPeter IIofRussia, among

others. In Europe in the 1800s, an

es0mated 400,000 deaths per year and

one-third of the cases of blindness were

causedbysmallpox.

Smallpox contributed in no small

measure to the conquest of the Americas,

where tribes, such as the Aztecs, Mayas,

and Incas, were decimated bythedisease.

Theystruggledtodefendthemselves,losing

key leaders to illness as baUle lines were

forming. ! ! ! ! The disease shaped the outcome

ofeventsinthehistoryoftheUnitedStates

as well… there were reports of smallpox

being used in the American Revolu0onary

Warasabiologicalweapontointen0onally

infect the opposing forces. [Smallpox was

the first biological weapon.] Even when

smallpox was no longer widespread, the

0ming of a single case could be crucial.

President Abraham Lincoln delivered the

GeUysburg Address in 1863 just before

fallingillwithacaseofsmallpox thatwould

leavehimbedriddenfor10days.”

PAGE5

The idea for gelng women

vaccinators into Afghanistan started when

Bob Steiner, the original country director

for Afghanistan, realized that themajority

Afghans, women and children, were not

being vaccinated against smallpox and

manyotherpreventablediseasesduetothe

cultureof Purdah ( Dari for “curtain”or by

inference, “protec0on“), which forbade

women fromleavingtheir housewithouta

male escort. In 1967, PC/Washington

invited 42 American women to the

Experiment forInterna0onal Living in

Putney, Vermont for ten weeksof training

as vaccinators for Afghanistan, under the

direc0onofAnneJaneway,

The invita0on was purposely

vague--direc0ons to the training site were

l imited only to the Experiment in

Interna0onal Living address in BraUleboro,

Vermont, not how to get there; physical

training included building a fire in a tree,

digginglatrines,traversingapondonropes,

living in a barn with no plumbing, etc.

Alreadyinthefirstweeks,thetraineeswere

each dropped off in small Vermont towns

and instructed to do something for public

health by convincing the town to provide

them with food and shelter while they

assisted the town. Some of the trainees

weresuccessfulbygoingtoalocaldoctoror

pharmacy, to the local school principal or

the police department, while others were

arrested for vagrancy. Through a rigorous

process of de-selec0on and self-directed

aUri0on,oftheoriginal 42trainees,twenty

PCV vacc inators actua l l y went to

Afghanistan.

Once in country, they vaccinated

women and children by going village to

village, house to house. They stayed

overnightindifferentAfghanadobehomes,

sleeping in familybedding on a mud floor

for months at a 0me. All of their meals

were eaten hand-Afghan style with the

villagers. Thepeoplewerewelcomingand

shared what liUle they had with the

Americanwomen. Thevaccinatorsworked

in everypartofthe countrywithPushtuns,

Tajiks,Uzbeks,Hazaras,andBaluchis.

I n o ne v i l l a g e , t h e Khan

(landowner) blocked their entrance by

s ta0ng that “everyone has been

vaccinated.” “Oh,youlet theAfghanmale

vaccinatorsintothewomen’squarters,did

you?“wasthe PCV’s answer.“ “No,no,

vaccinate men, good enough.” The

volunteershadtoexplaingermtheoryand

virology to this unleUered symbol of

authority. That was, un0l an elderly

woman came out to understand the

commo0on. “Does this have to do with

health,” sheasked. “Yes,“replied the all-

female vaccinators. “Well, then this is a

woman’s issue and theKhan has nothing

tosay.Comeonin!”

The in-countryprogram director,

George 0’Bannon, said that the work by

ourgroupintheeradica0onofsmallpoxin

AfghanistanwasthemostsuccessfulPeace

Corps program and that working with

Group XIvaccinators made his experience

in the Peace Corps worthwhile. Walter

Blass echoed that assessment in his final

report to PC/Washington. The program

had been sponsored bytheWorld Health

Organiza0on(WHO)andasthevaccina0on

program in Afghanistan was so successful,

it was used as aworkingmodel for other

partsof theworld. A statueat theWHO

About seven to 10 days aeer the

ini0al infec0on,thepa0ent would begin to

develop a high fever accompanied by a

severe headache and backache. Some

people became delirious, and children

occasionallyhad convulsions. Aeer two to

threemoredays,a rash would develop as

redspotsbegantoappearalloverthebody,

withthegreatestconcentra0onontheface,

hands,andfeet. Asthesespotsgrew,they

became painful pustules. The denser the

concentra0onofpustules,themorelikelyit

wasthatthepa0entwoulddie.Pa0ents

who survived beyond the second week

wereoeen scarred for life, as the pustules

became scabs, dried up, and fell off. In

addi0on to the permanent disfigurement

caused bythese deep scars,manypa0ents

wereblinded.”

What Effect Did Smallpox Have on the History of the World? (p. 11 - 12)

“In Egypt, the body of PharaohRamsesV, who diedmorethan 3,000years

ago,provides the earliest known evidence

of smallpox: telltale pockmarks on his

mummified skin. The invading army of

Alexander theGreat encountered smallpox

in the Indus River Valley and the Huns

swept intoChinacarrying thevirus. In the

second century AD, an epidemic raged in

the Roman Empire for 15 years, killing an

es0mated3to7millionpeople.

Trading caravans from theMiddle

East, knights of the Crusades, explorers

visi0ng the New World, and the African

headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland has

been dedicated to the many vaccinators

from various agencies who contributed to

the eradica0on of smallpox in the world.

All of the Group XI vaccinators

wereproud of thework they did to assist

theAfghan people ineradica0ngsmallpox,

but felt that they had received so much

more in return as the people shared the

veryliUlethat theyhadwithstrangersfrom

another land. The Afghan words of

hospitality, “Choi,Choi,Naan,”will forever

ring in our earsas our liveswere changed

forever.

Editor’s Note: CarolBeecherwroteabookEchoes Across Afghanistan, Choi, Choi, Naan,availableonAmazon,describingherexperiences

andtheexperiencesofherAfghancounterpart,

KhanMohammand Alami, who collaborated in

wri0ng the book. Walter Blass wrote up his

v i ews i n “G l impses o f A f ghan i s t an . ”

www.peacecorpsonline.org+waiterblass.

Photo:Uzbekwomanlookingathersmallpoxvaccina2oninTakharProvincein1968.(PhotobyCarolBeecher)TurkemanCradle

BookCoverPhotobyCarolBeecher

Photo:PCVCarolBeechervaccina0ngBaluchinomadsinNimrozProvincein1969.

PhotobyCarolBeecher.

“My grasp of the Farsi language was shaky at best in the first days in-country, but there was no

mistaking the meaning of the womenof a smallTurkomenvillage innorthernAfghanistanasthey

pointedtoemptycradlesandcried. The translatorconfirmedthatthebabieswhohadmostrecently

slept inthosecradles haddiedwithinthepasttwoweeksof smallpox.Theirques0onfor us: ‘Why

didn’tyoucomesooner?‘Icouldfeelacrackinmyheart.”

~PaUyMiUendorf

Eradicating Smallpox

Our Theme: For the fascina0ng storyofthe role ofPeaceCorpsintheglobaleradica,onofahumandisease forthe first,me inhistory,seethereport “Peace Corps Contribu0ons to the Smallpox Eradica0on Program,” published in 2016 by the Peace Corps. hUps://s3.amazonaws.com/

files.peacecorps.gov/documents/open-government/Peace_Corps_Global_Smallpox.pdf. See pages 30-40 for the AfghanistanCase Study, where the

accomplishment ofvaccina0ng 10millionpeople in3yearsaspart oftheWorldHealthOrganiza0on’sprogramwiththeAfghanMinistryofHealth, is

documented.Followingareexcerptsfromthereport,selec0on&paraphrasingbyJanWest.

PAGE4

From ThePeaceCorps Contribu2ons to theSmallpoxEradica2onProgram:

When WHO launched the global

Smallpox Eradica0onProgrammein1966,it

was es0mated that there were 10 million

casesofsmallpox in theworldand2million

deaths. The Soviet Union lobbied for the

WHOcampaignand providedvaccine. The

UnitedStatesandPresidentJohnson came

throughwithfundingto supportthetaskof

eradica0on in Africa and Asia, then joined

byanumberofothercountries.Intheend,

aeeranheroiceffortofseveralcoopera0ng

agencies,WHOofficiallydeclaredtheworld

free of smallpox in May 1980: This

“unprecedented achievement” in the

historyofpublic health, demonstratedthat

na0ons could work together towards the

common good in elimina0ng disease. (Dr.

A. Henderson, Smallpox, 249, 2009,Prometheus Books) “More than 3,000

years of human suffering, disfigurement,

blindness and death had finally been

broughttoanend.”(p.29)

What is Smallpox? (p. 9)“Smallpox was unique among

viruses in that it infected only humans.

Usually, transmission occurred through

face-to-face contact when an infected

person spoke or coughed, releasing

microscopicviral par0cles into theair. Any

suscep0ble person who inhaled those

par0cleswould becomethenext linkin the

human chain of infec0on andwas capable

of transmilngthevirustoothers forup to

threeweeks.

The First Group of VaccinatorsBy Carol Beecher, Group XI, RPCV Smallpox Vaccinator 1967-1969

& Walter Blass, Afghanistan Country Director 1966-1968

slavetrade—all had one thing incommon:

themovementofgroupsofpeoplecarrying

thevirustonewpopula0ons.

Oncesmallpoxtookholdinatown

or city, it struckpeasants androyaltyalike,

sparing no one who had not yet suffered

from it. Queen Elizabeth I survived the

disease in 1562, but smallpox caused

upheavals in the lines of succession in

several other monarchies, killing Emperor

Joseph I of Austria, Queen Mary II of

England,KingLouisXVofFrance, KingLuisI

ofSpain,andTsarPeter IIofRussia, among

others. In Europe in the 1800s, an

es0mated 400,000 deaths per year and

one-third of the cases of blindness were

causedbysmallpox.

Smallpox contributed in no small

measure to the conquest of the Americas,

where tribes, such as the Aztecs, Mayas,

and Incas, were decimated bythedisease.

Theystruggledtodefendthemselves,losing

key leaders to illness as baUle lines were

forming. ! ! ! ! The disease shaped the outcome

ofeventsinthehistoryoftheUnitedStates

as well… there were reports of smallpox

being used in the American Revolu0onary

Warasabiologicalweapontointen0onally

infect the opposing forces. [Smallpox was

the first biological weapon.] Even when

smallpox was no longer widespread, the

0ming of a single case could be crucial.

President Abraham Lincoln delivered the

GeUysburg Address in 1863 just before

fallingillwithacaseofsmallpox thatwould

leavehimbedriddenfor10days.”

PAGE5

The idea for gelng women

vaccinators into Afghanistan started when

Bob Steiner, the original country director

for Afghanistan, realized that themajority

Afghans, women and children, were not

being vaccinated against smallpox and

manyotherpreventablediseasesduetothe

cultureof Purdah ( Dari for “curtain”or by

inference, “protec0on“), which forbade

women fromleavingtheir housewithouta

male escort. In 1967, PC/Washington

invited 42 American women to the

Experiment forInterna0onal Living in

Putney, Vermont for ten weeksof training

as vaccinators for Afghanistan, under the

direc0onofAnneJaneway,

The invita0on was purposely

vague--direc0ons to the training site were

l imited only to the Experiment in

Interna0onal Living address in BraUleboro,

Vermont, not how to get there; physical

training included building a fire in a tree,

digginglatrines,traversingapondonropes,

living in a barn with no plumbing, etc.

Alreadyinthefirstweeks,thetraineeswere

each dropped off in small Vermont towns

and instructed to do something for public

health by convincing the town to provide

them with food and shelter while they

assisted the town. Some of the trainees

weresuccessfulbygoingtoalocaldoctoror

pharmacy, to the local school principal or

the police department, while others were

arrested for vagrancy. Through a rigorous

process of de-selec0on and self-directed

aUri0on,oftheoriginal 42trainees,twenty

PCV vacc inators actua l l y went to

Afghanistan.

Once in country, they vaccinated

women and children by going village to

village, house to house. They stayed

overnightindifferentAfghanadobehomes,

sleeping in familybedding on a mud floor

for months at a 0me. All of their meals

were eaten hand-Afghan style with the

villagers. Thepeoplewerewelcomingand

shared what liUle they had with the

Americanwomen. Thevaccinatorsworked

in everypartofthe countrywithPushtuns,

Tajiks,Uzbeks,Hazaras,andBaluchis.

I n o ne v i l l a g e , t h e Khan

(landowner) blocked their entrance by

s ta0ng that “everyone has been

vaccinated.” “Oh,youlet theAfghanmale

vaccinatorsintothewomen’squarters,did

you?“wasthe PCV’s answer.“ “No,no,

vaccinate men, good enough.” The

volunteershadtoexplaingermtheoryand

virology to this unleUered symbol of

authority. That was, un0l an elderly

woman came out to understand the

commo0on. “Does this have to do with

health,” sheasked. “Yes,“replied the all-

female vaccinators. “Well, then this is a

woman’s issue and theKhan has nothing

tosay.Comeonin!”

The in-countryprogram director,

George 0’Bannon, said that the work by

ourgroupintheeradica0onofsmallpoxin

AfghanistanwasthemostsuccessfulPeace

Corps program and that working with

Group XIvaccinators made his experience

in the Peace Corps worthwhile. Walter

Blass echoed that assessment in his final

report to PC/Washington. The program

had been sponsored bytheWorld Health

Organiza0on(WHO)andasthevaccina0on

program in Afghanistan was so successful,

it was used as aworkingmodel for other

partsof theworld. A statueat theWHO

About seven to 10 days aeer the

ini0al infec0on,thepa0ent would begin to

develop a high fever accompanied by a

severe headache and backache. Some

people became delirious, and children

occasionallyhad convulsions. Aeer two to

threemoredays,a rash would develop as

redspotsbegantoappearalloverthebody,

withthegreatestconcentra0onontheface,

hands,andfeet. Asthesespotsgrew,they

became painful pustules. The denser the

concentra0onofpustules,themorelikelyit

wasthatthepa0entwoulddie.Pa0ents

who survived beyond the second week

wereoeen scarred for life, as the pustules

became scabs, dried up, and fell off. In

addi0on to the permanent disfigurement

caused bythese deep scars,manypa0ents

wereblinded.”

What Effect Did Smallpox Have on the History of the World? (p. 11 - 12)

“In Egypt, the body of PharaohRamsesV, who diedmorethan 3,000years

ago,provides the earliest known evidence

of smallpox: telltale pockmarks on his

mummified skin. The invading army of

Alexander theGreat encountered smallpox

in the Indus River Valley and the Huns

swept intoChinacarrying thevirus. In the

second century AD, an epidemic raged in

the Roman Empire for 15 years, killing an

es0mated3to7millionpeople.

Trading caravans from theMiddle

East, knights of the Crusades, explorers

visi0ng the New World, and the African

headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland has

been dedicated to the many vaccinators

from various agencies who contributed to

the eradica0on of smallpox in the world.

All of the Group XI vaccinators

wereproud of thework they did to assist

theAfghan people ineradica0ngsmallpox,

but felt that they had received so much

more in return as the people shared the

veryliUlethat theyhadwithstrangersfrom

another land. The Afghan words of

hospitality, “Choi,Choi,Naan,”will forever

ring in our earsas our liveswere changed

forever.

Editor’s Note: CarolBeecherwroteabookEchoes Across Afghanistan, Choi, Choi, Naan,availableonAmazon,describingherexperiences

andtheexperiencesofherAfghancounterpart,

KhanMohammand Alami, who collaborated in

wri0ng the book. Walter Blass wrote up his

v i ews i n “G l impses o f A f ghan i s t an . ”

www.peacecorpsonline.org+waiterblass.

Photo:Uzbekwomanlookingathersmallpoxvaccina2oninTakharProvincein1968.(PhotobyCarolBeecher)TurkemanCradle

BookCoverPhotobyCarolBeecher

My Vaccinating ExperienceBy Jill Vickers, Group XV,

Smallpox Vaccinator 1969 - 1971

salaries, supervision, Land Rovers, fuel andvehiclerepairstotheteams.Theneed forafemale team member was reduced. In my second year, I was based inJalalabad, first vaccina>ng, then doingassessmentworkinthatregion.ThatspringIspent Nowroz as a guest of the family of amuch-loved counterpart. The almond andorange blossoms spread their scent and Iwanted to spend the rest of my life there.But, back in Kabul where I rented a housewithtwoothervolunteers,Ibecamerestlesswith not working much. I resigned aFertwentymonthsand got on an overland busforIstanbulwithaheavyheart.

With a BA in English, but noeduca>on courses, I secured a long-term,subs>tute-teaching job. I wanted to workwith those less privileged, so worked in agrouphome for children in from “thebush”forservicesinAnchorage.Later,myhusbandand I moved backto theChamplain basin ofNew YorkStatewhere I wasoriginallyfrom.Iwashired to start aprogramfor “studentsatrisk”inthehighschool. It’slikelymyPeaceCorpsexperiencehelped me jump into a teaching role withconfidencein spiteofmylackofexperience.I had learned something about consideringothers’pointsofviewandthat it’snatural tobe aSached to the land of one’s roots.Overcoming people’s resistance to what Iwassurewasagoodthing,avaccina>on,wasgood prac>ce for the teaching I did withstudents turned off by school…I was sofortunate to be part of a program comingintoitsownin aplacesoincrediblybeau>fulandhospitabletoAmericans.Note: IfinterestedintheDVDdocumentary,“OnceinAfghanistan,”thestoryoftheGroupXVvaccinators(directed/editedbyJillVickers&JodyBergedick),contactJillbeforetheendoftheyear:jvickers@gmavt.net.

Join “The Alliance”By Tony Agnello. President FoA

Iwould like to offer achallenge to all of youwho areFacebookusers.FoA is a leading supporter of The Peace Corps Alliance for InterculturalUnderstanding,which was just approved as an affiliate group by the Board ofDirectors of our coordina>ng organiza>on NPCA, the Na>onal Peace CorpsAssocia>on. As an important earlystep in the growthand developmentofthisnewgroup,werequestthat allofourFoAmembersjoinus inashowofsupportforTheAlliance. Our ini>al target members are, like us, RPCVs who served inpredominantlyMuslimna>ons.WebelievethatourPeaceCorpsservice,livingashonored guests within Muslim socie>es, has provided us with dis>nc>ve andinformed viewpoints regarding some of the cu]ng edge issues that are animportantpart ofour current na>onal dialogue. “TheAlliance”will serveasaninforma>on exchange and clearinghouse for RPCVs who are interested inresearching relevant content. The material gleaned from this site cansubsequentlybeusedtomakera>onalandpersuasiveargumentsagainstracism,an>semi>sm, islamophobia and all forms of bigotry, from our uniquelyexperiencedandinformedniche. The Alliance Facebook Group Page can be found at: hSps://www.facebook.com/groups/722014717956423.PleasevisitandLikeus,Friendusand asa groupmember, shareour contentwithin your social network. If thisini>a>veresonatesfor youor ifyouknowofan individual oragroupthatwouldbeaneagerpartner,pleasebeamatchmakerand lendusyour skillsandadvice.Do you know of a persuasive script, wriSen narra>ve or a podcast or Ted-Talkpromo>nginclusionandacceptanceofdiversity?Doyouknowofanyfaith-basedorganiza>onsor secular and humanistgroupswho share these inclusive values?What about patrio>c celebri>esor poli>cianswho arewilling to speaktruth topower?Ifso,pleaseintroduceus. Send us your ideas for advocacy ini>a>ves and crea>ve funding plans.Also, consider spending a few minutes naviga>ng our website: hSp://www.afghanconnec>ons.org/ Whether it’s at home with our advocacy for The Alliance or abroadthrough our numerousoutreach projectsin Afghanistan,FoAhasmaintained anongoing, decades-long advocacy for the ci>zens of our host na>on throughsuppor>ng ventures that make a real and las>ng difference in the lives ofindividualsandsmallcommuni>es.Andremember,MondanaBoshi!"Theprimarydifferencebetweenhistory'sboldestaccomplishmentsanditsmoststaggeringfailuresisoUen,simply,thediligentwilltopersevere.”~A.Lincoln

Itwasn’t just the coldof one ofAfghanistan’s harshest winters thatnumbedmethatJanuarywhenGroupXVarrivedin Kabul. Even aFertwomonthsof daily language training, my ears andtongue didn’t cooperate in Farsi. Mynose and throat conspired to make thesheep fat soup Icameto loveimpossibleto swallow. Menin ragged clothes,bentoverundertheirburdens, turnedoffpartofmybrain. This,andmore,waspart ofthe passage from home and campus toPeaceCorpsAfghanistan.

In-country training was northover theSalangPass toKunduzwith halfthe group of women. Dressing in mysleeping bag, avoiding the dysfunc>onalbathroomasmuchaspossible, thehotelroom was wall-to-wall beds. Thehighlightwas lessonswith ateacherwhohelpedbridgetheculturegap.

Group glue, and determina>onnot to quit,keptme therethrough longdaysandnightswai>ngtobegin.Whenthe weather broke, our counterpartsemerged from where they had tried tokeep warm inroomsover thebazaar. Itwasthebeginningofacloserela>onshipwith an Afghan vaccinator who lookedoutformeaslongasIworkedupnorth.He had smallpox scars,which mayhavehelped him convince people to bevaccinated. Giving a vaccina>on issimple--hanging in there un>l one winsoverthepersonwasthework.

AFer beingsworn in,Ireturnedto Kunduzandwemoved toahotel thatwas less depressing. It was now mudseasonandworkinginthevillagesbegan.Whilewe had documents allowing us togo into an area, our arrival at a villagewas oFen unexpected and not alwayswelcome. Much of the day we spentcha]ng with local people of influencehopingtogain their coopera>on.It tooka few months un>l I was part of thediscussion inFarsi. Justhavingsomeonealong,however,“who’dcomeall thewayfrom America,” helped. I never sawAfghans l ined up wai>ng to bevaccinated. The best situa>on was a

respectedvillageleaderge]ngusinsidethewalls, past the guard dogs where thewomenandchildrenwere.

Usually I’d leave the men to mycounterpart and talk to the older women.While they had no interest in beingvaccinated, they were curious about me.They were delighted I could speak withthemand tell themwhere Iwasfrom,howoldIwasandwhymyfamilywouldallowmeto do this. Eventually, they’d relent. Ididchase some giggling women around thecompound. Since I’d played the game,they’dletmevaccinate.Toomanyof thoseupperarmswereasthinasthoseofgirls. Once dropped off at our firstvillage,we walked to the rest. Thiswasafavoritepart asI wasfreeto contemplatealandscape under cul>va>on using simpletoolsandmusclepower.Lookingoutat thevistaofmountainsandriver valleys,Iwouldexclaim, “It beau>ful.” The standardresponse,“Youreyesarebeau>ful,”becameafavoritesayingofours.

My team’s Afghan supervisor didhisbesttokeepusworking. S>lltherewasalot of down >me.The toughest waitswerein thebareofficesofself-importantofficialswhose okay was required. Another delaywasmudand 1969wasabanner year for itaFer the heavy snows. Wai>ng, I foundentertainment and s>mula>on in books,cardgamesand group singing. Tripsto thebazaarweres>llanovelty.

ByMay,afewofushadtransferredto Kandahar tojoin thesouthern group andtherestofusrentedalargeAfghanhouseinPuli Khumri. Wespreadout over itsmanybedroomsand hired a cook.Visitorswouldcomebywithmailandnews.

For another year I con>nued as avaccinator. For themost part, the Afghanteammembersweretolerantofmyculturalignorance, impa>ence and insistence thatwevaccinateeverylastperson.Besidestheobviouscamaraderieofthework,wesharedbeingfarfromourwatanorhome.

TheWorldHealthOrganiza>onhadbegun itsworldwide campaign to eradicatesmallpox before my group arrived, but itwasn’tun>lwellintoourstaythatIsawthedifference it made. WHO was ge]ng

PAGE6

Photo: TraineeMarthaHaynespracYcingonanarYficial bicep held by trainee Lynn LaFrothsupervisedbyCherylStetlerInEstesPark,CO1968.

Letters to the Editor

DearFriends, I am sending you informa>on aboutMaryMacMakin, one of the peoplemen>onedin my lecture concerning the BamiyanWeavingProject. This lady'scommitment to thewomenof Afghanistan is nothingshort of phenomenal.She inspires me daily to further advance hercause, the empowerment of thewomen in theBamiyan region of Afghanistan. It might be ofinterest toall ofyou thatat theageof80+,shehas been granted Afghan ci>zenship. To viewthisceremony,pleasegotowww.tolonews.com/afghanistan-octogenarian-granted-afghan-ci>zenship. OnApril4th, I tooktheprototypeoftheponchosto the NYC atelierofZolaykhaSherzadfor her tocri>quetheponchos,theirdesignandmarke>ngfeasibility. It was an interes>ng andeduca>onalmee>ng.TolookatZolay'swork,gotoinfo@zarifdesign.com. Onanothernote,FriendsofAfghanistananditssubsidiary,GrowingPeaceinAfghanistan,are pleased to tell you that the floor loom hasbeen delivered to Mary MacMakin in Kabul.Because of your generous dona>ons, we wereable to get the job done! I never realized thecomplica>onsofshippingaloomtoAfghanistansinceitisconsideredawarzone! InPeace,

PhilSmith,RPCV1970-72BamiyanWeavingProject

(LeSer below discovered recently, but wriSen some >meago.) Iliked yourar>cleonRayFeichtmeier...wassaddened to hearabouthistragicaccident.ThankRachelfordoingthenicear>cleonhim. I returned to Afghanistan as part of ateamsponsoredbytheDept.ofCommercetodoa feasibility study... to develop the miningindustrythere. Itwasinteres>ngand sad goingback aFer... more than 40 years. I was verysaddened to learn that theAfghan studentwholivedwith usfor ayear in1978-79haddied theChristmasbefore Iwent. HewasAtaNazar andhadbeen alanguage(Pashtu)instructor in...thetrainingprogramsIworked. ThanksforthenewsleSer.Gree>ngstooldvolunteers,staffandAfghanfriends. JackHautaluomaPS Ata was Dean of Engineering at KabulUniversitywhenhedied.

PAGE3

Paul Bitter Memorial Fund

Thankstogenerous friendswho contributed toPaul’sMemorial Fund.$500wasdonatedand wasmatchedbythe FriendsofAfghanistanBoard for a$1,000dona>on to the KhalidHosseini Founda>on in Paul’s name. SincePaulwasaFoodforWorkPCVolunteer 1972-73,theBoard decidedto contribute tothisFounda>onbecauseofitshumanitarianworkbuildingshelters forrefugees.Italso “provideseconomic opportuni>es,educa>on,and healthcare forwomenandchildrenofAfghanistan.”RestinPeace,Paul. Humanitarianworkcon>nuesonyourbehalf.

Many YES alumni and privatescholarship winners subsequently enteredhighly ranked, undergraduate colleges anduniversi=es in the US with exemplaryacademic/leadership achievements andgraduatedegrees. Senior posi=onsare currentlyheldby YES alumni in Kabul in secondaryeduca=on, public health and electricalengineering(KabulUniversity). Iresigned asCountryDirector June2008 due to inability to influence theprogram’s DC-based headofficethatunlesspriority aPen=on was paid to assis=ngreturning studentsto find jobsand preparecollege applica=ons, that con=nuousdefec=onstoCanadahad tobeacceptedasagiven.TheYESprogramwassubsequentlycloseddownin2010bytheUSAmbassadorforthisreason. Co-Founder/DirectorEmeritusSOLA, 2008-Present. Inspired and named by asuccessfulYESstudentwhiles=lla junior incollege,SOLA opened its doors on October1, 2008 to four female students. Quo=ngf r o m t h e w e b s i t e w w w . s o l a -afghanistan.org:

“TedhasalivinglegacyinthelivesoftheyoungAfghanshehascaredforandmentoredalongtheway.Heistrulyafaithfulfriend.” ~TerryDougherty

PAGE2

Airborne Ranger. He then went to Tu_sUniversity Fletcher School of Interna=onalLawandDiplomacy,gradua=ngwithanMAinEconomicsin1962.Fromthere, hespentthe next decade working in interna=onalbanking.Hestarted a25-yearcareerasanentrepreneurandbusinessman,successfullyturning around several companies, servingtwo terms in theOregon State Legislaturewhile raisinga family of five children. Hefirstre=redin1996. A_er "failingre=rement,"Tedsayshe entered into a "re=rement career ofchoice." He took a two-month trip toAfghanistan in 2002 at the sugges=on ofLouis Mitchell. That led to his decision toreturntoliveandworktherefromFebruary2003toFebruary 2015.Duringthat=me, inaddi=ontohisworkwithAmericanCouncilsasthecountrydirector of theYESprogramand co-founding SOLA (along with formerYES student Shabana Basij-Rasikh), he co-founded the Kabul office of PaxtonInterna=onal. Healso servedasadirectoroftheAbdulMajidZabuli(AMZ)Founda=onwherehemanagedthedevelopmentoftheEduca=onal Support and DevelopmentOrganiza=on of Afghanistan (ESDOA). HereiswhatTedhasto sayabouthis work in Afghanistan: Co-Founder,Paxton InternaBonal – Kabul ,2003-2008.In 2003, I opened the Kabul office of thisglobal freight forwarder with one truckdriver.In2005hiredandbegantrainingtheAfghan who assumed full Profit & Lossresponsibility for the company in 2009.

Ted Ach i l l e s , Jr . . . .>> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Paxton now has 50 employees withrevenuesinexcessof$8m.Itdominatesitsmarket sector with a consistent focus ontraining and selng a global industrystandardfor qualityservice. Thecompanygenerates consistently strong margins.[Ted does not hold an ownership interestand has not been ac=ve in the companysinceJanuary2009.] Country Director, Afghanistan for YouthExchange & Study (YES) Program2004-2008. Iac=velyrecruited10th gradeAfghan boys/girls frommul=ple provincesfor one-year StateDepartment-funded YESscholarships and private founda=onprogramsin USpublic andprivateschools.The Afghan students selected performedexcep=onallywellacademicallyandsociallyacross the board. Diversitywas achievedthrough recrui=ng from 14 provinces in2004 to 21 provinces in 2008 with mosttraveldonebyautomobile.2,000to3,000students took the ini=al test each year.They went through 4 increasingly difficultsteps to final interviewsfor approximately240 students fromwhich 40 finalistswereselected. While gender equality was amajor goal, parental hesita=on aboutsending daughters to America for highschoollimitedthefemalepar=cipa=on ratetoanaverageofabout40%.

PAGE7

”TheSchoolofLeadership,AfghanistanisanAfghan-led, private school for Afghan girls,thefirst of itskind inAfghanistan. SOLA’smissionistoprovideAfghangirlsa rigorouseduca=on that promotes cri=cal thinking,asense of purpose,and respect for self andothers...SOLA, which is a Pashto wordmeaning “peace,” seeks to represent allethnic groups andprovinces inAfghanistan.To date SOLA students have enrolled from22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.”SOLA has grown from 4 students to 42,twenty-fiveofwhomare6th gradeboardinggirlswhowillstayatSOLAthrough the12thgrade with a new 6th grade class enrolledeach year. Theschool’s strategicplan is tohaveitsowncampustohouse340boardingstudents, represen=ng all of Afghanistan’sprovinces. SOLA’stemplate forsuccessis directly =ed to being Afghan-led by itsyoung,college-educated,President/CEOanditsBoard Chairman. Both are in theirmid-twen=es. Suppor=ng these leaders is apowerful Board and AdvisoryBoard whosemembers are deeply commiPed Afghans,A fghan-Amer i cans , Amer i cans andEuropeans. There is a strongly heldconsensus that one needs to take agenera=onal perspec=ve to mee=ng one’sgoalsinthishighlychallengingenvironment.Solu=ons to Afghanistan’s o_en seeminglyintractable problems will come fromeducated Afghans, especially women, andcannot be imposed f rom outs ide .Director, Abdul Madjid Zabuli (AMZ)FoundaJon (West Palm Beach, FL) 2009 -Present. TheAMZFounda=onwasformedto manage the estate of the late AbdulMadjid Zabuli (1890-1994). Hiswealthwasthe result of successful entrepreneurialpursuits in Russia (before the OctoberRevolu=on),inGermany(beforeWorldWarII)andinAfghanistan,whereheinauguratedthe commercial banking system andfounded his country’s Central Bank, DaAfghanistanBank.Ac=vi=esincludesupportforMBAscholarshipsatAmericanUniversityof Afghanistan and on-going support for anon-profit maternity clinic in Kabul that

Photo: Ted, front right,withgroupofSolacechildren & parents who are depar=ng formedicaltreatmentintheUnitedStates.

LeNPhoto: SOLAstudents &TedwelcomeLouise Pascale, Songbook Project Director,(RPCV1966-68)toAfghanistanwithflowers.

charges nominal feeswith current pa=entlevelsofapproximately1,000amonth. ManagingDirector,EducaJonal Support &Development OrganizaJon of Afghanistan(Kabul),2014–Present.ESDOAistheAMZF o u n d a = o n ’ s n o n - g o v e r nme n t a lorganiza=on licensed to represent itsinterests in Afghanistan, currently in theforma=on stage. Mission: “To provideeduca=onal opportuni=es and economicenhancement to rural Afghans, especiallywomen.” InconcludingmystoryaboutTed, itisimportanttoremember Ted’sconnec=ontoLouMitchellwhohadhopedtoreturntoAfghanistan,buthesentTedwhenhisownhealthpreventedhimfromgoing.Hechosethe right man to send in his place. AfavoritequoteofTed's is: "Donot followwhere the path may lead, go insteadwhere there is no path and leave atrail.” IhavebeenTed'sdistantsidekickandadmirerfor15yearsnow.Alongtheway, Io_en jokedwithTed about himbeing theLone Ranger. There were =mes when Ireplied, "Yes, kemosabe," as we wereplanning the next expenditure for SOLAwithoutknowingwhere themoneywouldcome from. It is said that kemosabemeans "faithful friend" in the language ofthePotawatomi, atribefromIndiana.TedhasalivinglegacyinthelivesoftheyoungAfghans he has cared for and mentoredalongtheway. Heistrulyafaithful friend.Ted's work in Afghanistan is a livingexample of what the Persian poet,Ferdowsiفردوسی said in theShahnamaشاهنامه EpicofKings,HeroTalesofAncientPersia: “The purpose of the Hero(Pahlavan) who seeks to lead a nobleexistence is to fully understand thepurpose of ‘Living (zenda), Loving(mahabat), Learning (danesh), Leaving agood name(nom)! ‘” Or,more simply,toLive, Love, Learn and Leave a Legacy,whichwouldbringhonortooneselfand toone'sfamilyname!

>> CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Tabrik!

Frank Light: Frankhasbeenawardedthe Da Jiao Wri=ng Award for Crea=veNon-Fic=on from the Arcturus Magazine.Hisar=cle, “Land of Light,” was about hisexperienceinNuristanduringPeaceCorpsservice in 1972 and in 2003 when hereturned as a member of a ProvincialReconstruc=on Team embedded with USMarines on an assignment with the StateDepartment. Read hisexcellent ar=cle athPps://arcturus.chireviewoyooks.com/land-of-light-913c861cce1f A sincerethankyou to Frankfor dona=ng his prizemoneytotheBamiyanTex=leProject.

Peace Corps ConnectDenver Aug. 4th - 6th

ByJanWest

hPp://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/events/peace-corps-connect-partnering-

for-progress

We’re hoping that a number ofour members from the midwest will beable to aPend the NPCA gathering thisyear. Tony Agnello and I are definitelyplanning tobe thereandperhaps anotherBoard member or two. We plan to holdourAnnualMembership mee=ngat somepointduringthiseventat theUniversityofDenver. IamalsogoingtodoaBazaarasafundraiser for FoA on Sunday, Aug. 6th,1 - 4 pm , so if any of you have nicejewelry, Afghan or personal, that you nolonger wear, you could donate it to thecause.PleasesendviathePostOfficeto: JanWest POBox30 Trinidad,CA95570If shipping with a door-to-door deliveryservice,myphysical address is470 TrinityStreet. For those of you planning toa P e n d , p l e a s e e m a i l m e :jan@afghanconnec=ons.orgsowecanseehowmany of our group will be there. Ifyouwould alsolike toworkin theBazaar,please let me know. Volunteers aregreatlyappreciated!

Ted Achilles, Jr....

Ar#cles in this series, en#tled, “Enduring Connec#ons,” highlight the lives of people who aredevotedtothebe<ermentoftheworld. Weare connectedthroughourhopesforthe futureandourrela#onshipswiththepeopleinothercountries,especiallyAfghanistan.

Leaving a Legacy: Ted Achilles, Jr. By Terry Dougherty, RPCV Afghanistan 1973 - 1975

“Solu&onstoAfghanistan’so2enseeminglyintractableproblemswillcomefromeducatedAfghans,especiallyAfghanwomen,andcannotbeimposedfromoutside.”

~TedAchilles,2010

PublishedbyFriEnds of Afghanistanwww.afghanconnec#ons.org

Ambassador Hakimi in September 2011,Friends of Afghanistan awarded TedAchilles the first ever Starfish Award forhis work with Afghan YES students andco-founding SOLA (School of LeadershipA f g h a n i s t a n ) . Who is this Ted Achilles? Hegrew up in afamilyheadedbyTheodoreAchilles, Sr., who was a career diplomatcalled one of the "fathers of NATO"because of his work negoOaOng thecreaOon of that organizaOon. AQer Tedgraduated from Yale in 1958, he joinedtheUSArmywhere he aWended InfantryOfficer'sSchoolandqualifiedasan...

I first met Ted Achilles at the40+1 Reunion of the Peace Corps inWashington, DC aQer the 40th reunionplanned for late September 2001 hadbeencancelled.TedwassibngwithLouisMitchell (Peace Corps Afghanistan,Country Director) in a corner of theAfghanGrillwhereFriendsofAfghanistanhad gathered to kick-off the reunionweekend. Louis introduced Ted as hisfriendwhowasgebngreadyto leaveforAfghanistan to seewhat kindofbusinessopportuniOeshecoulddevelop. ThenextOmeI heardofTedwaswhenTonyAgnello(PCVAfghanistan)toldme thatRandyBiggers(PCVAfghanistan)was the officer at the State Departmentwho was sebng up the Youth Exchangeand StudyYESprogram that would bringAfghanhighschoolstudentstotheUSfora year of studybeginning in 2004. Ted

>> CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Membership ByBetsyAmin-Arsala

caravan44@aol.com! People are remembering to paytheir dues at the beginning of the year perlast year’s membership guidelines of FoA.Ninety-eight FoA members contributed$3,882! Thankyou! These folksare: JimPoplack, Hazel Hardiman, Bob/LeeleeDevenney,BeWy Jordan,Louisa Magzanian,M. Hassan Alief, Andrew Husky, FrankBaldwin, Blair Brainard, Bridget O’Connor,William Plummer, Cheryl Stetler, DavidCarroll, Jane Willard, Howard Goldman,Walter Blass, Barry Weiss, James Keane,Thomas Grant, William MiWendorff, StuartSchmidt, NancyBenson, Jan Hardy, JosephGoss, Noel Klebaum, Jonathan Cohanne,William Loughner, Phil Grant, PhyllisHeffron, William WiW, Monica Choi, MarcTolo,DonaldSauer,CarolSvendsen,ThomasSonnemann, Jacquelyn Davidson, RobertBirkmeyer, James de Maine, Daniel Lutz,Autumn Hu, Judith Leauby, Diane Sakai-Furuta,PeggyWilson,BrianJohnson,DonaldWaWs, Randal & Bonnie Thie Cowart, KurtNelson, Suzanne Johnson, Frances Connell,JordanSchneider, PatGurevitch,PatNyhan,

NormanRosen,SuzanneSmith,JohnZiegler& ChrisOne White-Ziegler, Carol Anderson,Stephen Smith,PamWheeler,BeWyJoVanGelder,JanReimer,MargaretBubon-Smith,Marshall French, Mary Enright, Carolyn/John Vann, Beth Jones, Jack Pace, Bruce/DanaFreyer,MikeAlbin, PhilSmith,LenoreSherida, Suzanne Zaw, Bob Price, LouisePascale, Russell Gamage, Robert vonZumbusch, Richard/Candace Dermody,Lawrence/Mary Ann Heeren, SuzanneHallum, James/Pamela Wheeler, Ralph/Marie Jackson, Diana Guyer, Lish/BarbWhitson, KrisOna Engstrom, Cathie/ClarkeKeenan, Jo Bonnin, Jake Hautaluoma,William Veazie, Joe Rice, Douglas Head,Kathe Conrad, Joanne Allen, Terry & JeanKeir,AndrewUlitsky, JudyRath,ChetOrloff,Dorothy Gorman, Khan Alami, RosalindPace, Katherine Long,MelissaMoncavage,Mark Astor, Dennis Aronson, CharlesArnold, Frank Brechin, Patrick Pinkson-Burke, Phil Eberle, Leila Poullada, CharlesCranford, Tom Schild, Georgia Joyal, JohnNiemitz, Timothy McNeill, John Soden,Robert Dietrich, David Benson, JoanneAllen,ThomasKralandDonYager.Yourcontribu&onssupportourwork!

Spring2017

P4-6EradicaAngSmallpoxbyCarolBeecher,WalterBlass,&JillVickers

P7PeaceCorpsConnectDenverbyJanWest

Achilles was to be the program directorforAmericanCouncilswhowouldhiretheAfghanstaffandselectthestudents.Tonyand I signed up to work with the YESprogram to find host families andcoordinate the studentarrivals to stay intheUnitedStates.MynextmeeOngwithTed was when I stayed at the AmericanCouncilsofficeinKabulaQer Ichaperonedthe2004-05 YESstudentson their returnto Afghanistan. Thusbegan afriendshipt h a t p e r s i s t s t o t h i s d a y . Friends of Afghanistan haspartneredwith Ted Achilles’s projects inAfghanistanever since.WhenTedreOredfrom American Councils in 2008 andopened the School of LeadershipAfghanistan (SOLA),wehelped him raiseoperaOng funds and obtain computersand providedother support. At the50threunion recepOon hosted by Afghan

P 1 - 2, 7 LeavingaLegacy:TedAchilles,Jr.byTerryDougherty

P3Join“TheAlliance”byTonyAgnello

Board of DirectorsPresident:TonyAgnello

VicePresident NancyCunningham

ChiefofOperationsTerryDougherty

&Membership

Treasurer PhilSmith

Secretary&

NewsletterEditorJanWest

CulturalAffairsBetsyAmin-Arsala

OutreachCoordinatorBaktashAhadi

“Enduring Connections”

Editor’s Tiny Corner: Thanks toeveryone who made this issue possible,especiallyJillVickers&Carol Beecherforsharing the vaccinator stories; to TerryDoughtery for his arOcle about TedAchilles,Jr.; toTonyAgnello for hisFoAarOcle; to Betsy Amin-Arsala for themembership report. Thanks to all whosent in Links to share with our readers.Welovehearingfromyouandappreciateyourinterest!

Pleasesendyour comments,sugges#ons,o r a r # c l e s f o r p u b l i c a # o n t ojan@aghanconnecOons.org.

Friends of Afghanistanc/oTerryDougherty4415 Piazza CircleFort Wayne, IN 46804

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