by Dr. Hakim / August 23rd, 2017
Ghulam (second from left) working on our community’s greenhouse, together with Zek, Khamad and Ali
Ali, Zekerullah, Khamad and I miss Ghulam and his family. We feel sad that life in Afghanistan had finally become too burdensome for them. They are now Afghan refugees in Iran.
We have known Ghulam for many years, Ali and Ghulam being distant relatives and the best of childhood friends. Ghulam lived in community with us for about five years. We were his second family, supporting one another through thick and thin.
Ghulam’s focus
Ghulam worked very hard to be a good student. When he transferred to a private school, he topped his class in the exams and thus had his school fees waived.
He felt that doing well in school was the only route to a better life for a poor student.
Besides schooling, Ghulam would spare time once a week to help organize the first Food Bank in Afghanistan, run by the Afghan Peace Volunteers ( APVs ). Volunteering isn’t a prevalent practice, and it isn’t easy trying to get well-to-do business persons to trust the APVs against the background of a ‘corruption tsunami’ in Afghanistan. So, Ghulam’s work with the nascent Food Bank called for his courage, persistence and kindness.
Ghulam (extreme right) with Hussein and Sarwar going house to house to collect food donations for the Food Bank
Ghulam’s good-bye
I remember that Ghulam had first visited Kabul with us when he was 12-years-old. Then, he had…