People

My recent trip to Jalalabad was not only a good way to see a bit of Afghanistans' country side, but also an excellent opportunity to meet and talk to the people I am here to assist through my position of VET (vocational education and training) coordinator. This year alone my department has trained (through local training centres) over 2500 people of all ages, in a variety of skills. When I visited Jalalabad, most training courses were already completed, and we thus had a chance to visit some of the graduates in their work place (at least those who had succeeded to access employment/self employment). In most places that I passed to visit trainees, people were extremely friendly and welcoming. In three days, I have drunk more tea and eaten more candies than I would usually do in an entire week (in Afghanistan, there is just no way you could meet with somebody without being offered tea and candies - instead of sugar). Whenever I took out my camera, a crowd of kids usually gathered, asking for pictures. Funny, other than in other countries I have been too, people in Afghanistan simply seem to enjoy being on a picture (in other countries, the request for pictures is often linked to some money and/or promise to send back at least one of the pictures).

Below are some of my favorite pictures, memories of some of the encounters which I had with people in and around Jalalabad
Kids in the streets of JalalabadCommunity members during a graduation ceremony for project beneficiaries who had just completed a tailoring course
A group of women in Sheihk Masri, one of the officialy land allocation sites provided by the Government of Afghanistan to the returnees from Pakistan and Iran.
Trainees from a carpentry course. The one in the background has participated in a training last year, and is by now a master trainer, too.
Again, Sheikh Masri. I will defenitely write more about these land allocation schemes more one of the next days...
And again, Sheikh Masri land allocation site. More to follow