Warm greetings to you all from Suzanne,

I'm the gal that runs the Education Sponsorship Program for Trust In Education. I may have met many of you at various TIE events or here in the office. Budd has asked that I write a newsletter sharing a little about me and my experiences with TIE since I started volunteering here.

Back in January 2012 I had just departed the corporate world to be more available to my daughter as she entered those tricky teenage years. With a less hectic schedule I also wanted to volunteer for a non-profit whose work resonated with me. The education of children and betterment of women's lives in under-served parts of the world are issues that have long been important to me. Given the work Budd was doing in Afghanistan from right here in Lafayette where I live, it was a perfect fit to come and help out.

In 2013 Budd asked me to take on managing the Education Sponsorship Program in which individuals, schools, families and groups financially support very poor Afghan children in Kabul to go to school full time. These are kids who are begging; selling tea, plastics bags, or pencils; or polishing shoes to help support their families. They are kids who are keenly aware that an education will radically change their life path for the better and just need a little financial support ($50 per month only) to go down that path. And they are kids who are willing to work hard in school once given the opportunity (and luxury!) to go full-time. The girls understand that if they can finish high school they are less likely to be being married off, have many children, and live at a subsistent level. And educated boys are more likely to grow up comprehending the enormous advantage of educated women to their own well-being as well as Afghanistan's. Being pivotal in helping these children obtain an education has been the most rewarding work, besides raising my own child, I have ever done.

Currently, we have a total of 78 children, all residing in Kabul, ranging in ages from 8 to 24; 58% are girls and 42% are boys. They are in 4 th grade all the way up to university level. 

Since I began managing TIE's Education Sponsorship Program, we have witnessed some wonderful milestones for children our sponsors assist:

 Four university graduates in fields of psychology, mid-wifery, business, and journalism. This group includes three young women and one young man (who is blind but remained academically at the top of his class throughout his school years).

 Twenty-nine high school graduates. Last November (the end of the 2016 school year) all nine high school graduates applied to the university. One has been admitted to law school; the others are waiting to hear on their acceptance.

 Last year a full 25% of our students were performing academically in the top 10% of their class, and 64% were in the top half of their class.

You may know that Kabul has experienced some absolutely frightening, horrific violence, especially in recent months. No public place there is safe; neither government buildings, nor public hospitals, nor police headquarters, nor the streets. Nevertheless, the children in our sponsorship program navigate their way to school every week despite this dangerous, unstable climate. Such is their commitment to an education. Many of them state in letters to their sponsors that they want to help their country after they achieve their academic goals.

There is enormous gratification from helping under-served children in Afghanistan go to school. Seeing their photos, reading their letters to their sponsors, and witnessing them progress is incredibly moving to me. I also get to work with incredibly kind, generous, compassionate, and worldly-aware individuals of all ages who are our sponsors. Our joint
commitment to these children is virtually sowing the seeds for future peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as improving the lives of women where they currently have few rights.

You all might enjoy hearing about the children in our program. In coming newsletters I will highlight the stories of a few of them. Seeing photos of them and their families makes incredibly personal what we do in this program and for whom.

Until then, thank you for your support of Trust In Education!