Luther student says helping schools in Afghanistan was rewarding, but challenging

Luther College student Mustafa Muhammadi

Two Luther College students, Ali Yazdani and Mustafa Muhammadi, last year received a Davis Projects for Peace grant to help a school in rural Afghanistan.

On Tuesday Muhammadi spoke with members of the Luther Women's Club about the experience.  He says the $10,000 from the Davis Peace grant and $5,800 in donations from other sources allowed the two Luther students to buy 150 desks for Paymori High School, which is located in Bamyan, Afghanistan, three hours west of Kabul.  The school has eight classrooms and over 400 students, of which 150 are girls.

The table and bench units are keeping younger students off the cold cement floors at the school--making them less likely to become ill.  The money raised by the two Luther students also bought whiteboards for the school and helped the school to build a soccer field.
 
Yazdani and Muhammadi visited the school this past summer and brought the supplies.  Nevertheless, he says members of the Taliban warned the two Luther students not to complete their project--then someone grabbed Muhammadi when he was on a bike, pushed him off and caused Muhammadi to break his shoulder.  The Taliban also sent him a warning not to return to Bamyan.

Still, Muhammadi believes the project helped advance the cause of peace.  The people of Afghanistan, he says, "need the right idea of peace, which is why education is so important."  He adds "I believe our world is not meant to be the way it is now" and concludes by saying, "There's always a hand to hold on to."