Basic Hygiene

Alright, this is a little disgusting, but I have to write about it.  When I say we build schools, we actually just pay for the schools.  We work with the Provincial Education Directorate to determine what their priorities are and then we propose school projects up the chain of command.  Once they are approved we go through the bidding process, calling for contract bids from local contractors.  Once a contractor is selected a contract is signed and the work begins.  We place conditions in the contract that require the contractor to hire locally providing employment opportunities to the local villages rather than bringing in workers from another district or province (which is a recipe for disaster).  While the school is being built, our job is to visit the work site on a regular basis and conduct quality control inspections to ensure the workmanship is up to standards and that they are maintaining the timeline to complete the project on time.

For some of the schools, when we visit there are already studying under the trees or in the corner of the courtyard.  Teachers will bring chalkboards outside, prop them up against the tree and have the kids sit on blankets in the shade while they teach the lesson.  It is good to see such a hunger for education.

But let me get to the point.  When they build the schools, they always build the restrooms as separate buildings.  Each restroom will have maybe six or seven stalls.  Depending on the contractor, some restrooms will include porcelain and plumbing.  Others will consist of a hole in the floor.  The buildings are basically permanent port-a-potties since the holes don't lead to any piping system.  We have made a couple of visits to a school that is getting ready to open.  The students have been sitting under the trees for quite some time, waiting for the school to be finished.  As I walked into the restroom to check on the construction I ran into a mine field, with piles and piles of poop all over the floor.  The concrete floor was also stained with urine and the air was stagnant and thick.  The first time I saw this I told the foreman they needed to clean up the restroom.  The foreman explained that all the kids get a break at the same time so the first six or seven kids get the stalls and the rest just squat and do their business wherever they can.  What?!?  The next time we visited one of the restrooms had been cleaned up and locked.  The other one, however still had poop mines.  Walking around the side of the building the ground was covered with piles of poop as kids would go behind the building to do their business.  I spoke to the principal about teaching the kids proper hygiene and the importance of avoiding disease.  He looked at me and said "Oh, this is the girls' restroom."  Okay...and your point is....what exactly?  I guess since they are girls they can figure it out for themselves.  He assured me that once the school was actually open and the kids were out from under the trees and in the building they would be taught the proper way to use the restroom.  I'm not sure why he wants to wait to get them in the building but we will see.

This is just another example of the struggle to bring them into the 21st Century and the importance of education, not only for the kids, but for the parents the teachers and the future leaders of the country.

Observations

I know, I know, it has been way too long between posts.  I am pretty sure I have already lost my sixteen loyal readers.  I have many posts in my head that never quite make it to the computer.  The key is to have shorter, more frequent posts rather than trying to duplicate War and Peace every time I write something.  So, here I sit at 6:45 in the morning watching the first game of the World Series.  I was up at 5:30 and still missed the first three innings.  Between watching the playoffs and catching an NFL game on Sunday nights/Monday mornings my body clock is getting seriously screwed up.

I'm not sure who I am rooting for.  When I have no vested interest in the teams I just go with my gut.  Last year I was rooting for Texas because I have an intense dislike for Tim Lincecum.  Watching this first game my gut is telling me St. Louis...but that could change.

The weather is becoming cooler now...almost perfect.  Before the sun finds it's way over the mountains the air is cool and still.  Once the sun comes up it consistently makes the mid-80s which is nothing after months of temperatures over 100.

With the cooler temperatures comes a threat I was not aware of until just a few days ago...snakes.  Although I have not seen one yet, I have heard of two vipers and a cobra being seen or killed on the base.  Really?  Isn't it bad enough that we have bad guys up in the hills, now we have to watch where we walk because there are snakes running around (slithering around)?  As luck would have it pretty much all snakes in Afghanistan are posionous...sweet.

Having said that, the Afghan Jungle Cats are still around.  Looking at their size, I am not too sure they are built to take on the snakes.  Instead it looks like the cats and the snakes will be competing for the mice that have taken residence on the base.

This has been, perhaps, the most challenging leadership experience I have ever faced.

I have had the honor of meeting some great people...both Afghan and American.

They need more variety in their food.  If the Afghans opened a good Italian restaurant, a Mexican joint or even a Chinese buffet I believe all their "sad brothers" as they refer to the Taliban would come down from their caves and enjoy a new and exciting dining experience.  Before long they would forget what they were fighting about and peace would be at hand.

I have seen the fish that come out of the Kunar River and I have seen what else is in the Kunar River...a sushi place is not an option.

I believe they have already forgotten what the fighting is all about.

Yesterday I came out of a meeting at the Governor's Compound.  There was literally a line waiting to ask me for something.  As I walked out I could see they were nicely spaced about every ten yards or so along the path they knew I had to take to get back to my vehicle.  I would speak to one group/person, walk about ten yards and be stopped by the next request.  Everything from tribal elders asking about a road to the Cricket Association asking about outfitting their teams with new equipment. Who will they wait in line for when we are gone?

St. Louis won Game One.  I am good with that.

More later...