What were we THINKING?

"Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you." — St. Augustine, Algeria

It all began with an email.

The message was forwarded by Sherry Simpson Dean, Executive Director of the United Nations Association Pasadena/Foothills Chapter, to Jon, who served as Board Secretary of the UNA for the past 6 years. Jon read the message then sent it to me where it sat in my inbox. Then I opened it and our lives changed.

The message was from Kara Lozier, a representative of American Councils which manages and implements the YES Afghanistan program for the US Department of State. She was looking for host families to provide homes for Afghan high school students for 2010-2011. It was mid-May, and the students would be arriving in August.

I instantly knew that I wanted to do this, but waited about an hour before I said anything to Jon. It turned out that Jon was all for it. So I called Kara and got the ball rolling.

We had to ensure that our school district would hold a place for a student before we could even apply to host. Once that was established, we rapidly moved through the process which included a lengthy application, a background check, reference checks with people who had been in our home (thanks Micki and Sherry), and an interview with Donna, the local area coordinator.

The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program was established in October, 2002, to provide scholarships for high school students (15-17 years) from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend up to one academic year in the US. Students live with host families, attend high school, engage in activities to learn about American society and values, acquire leadership skills, and help educate Americans about their countries and cultures.

While here, they are required to complete 30 hours of community service and to deliver at least 2 presentations educating others about their home country. Upon returning home, they join alumni associations, create opportunities to share their experiences with their countrymen, and conduct community service projects in their own cities and villages.

In Afghanistan this year approximately 4000 boys and girls applied for 40 scholarships. They wrote essays, submitted recommendations from their teachers, took English tests, and passed interviews with both American Councils representatives and officials at the US Embassy in Kabul.

All YES students are academically accomplished, bright, and talented. We were provided with the profiles of 4 wonderful boys (all of the girls were already placed). We chose Shakib. Lucky us!

What were we thinking on that day in May when we responded to Kara's email?

We were thinking: We have the resources. We are not wealthy by US standards but we are wealthier than 99% of the people who live on our planet. Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day. Over 2 billion live on less than $2 a day. We can do this.

We were thinking: We can provide love, support and guidance to a real person rather than just worry about the situation in Afghanistan.

We were thinking: We are surrounded by an extraordinary community of people who will welcome, appreciate and connect with our "son."

We were thinking: We can make a difference that ripples out to others in unforeseen directions and unimaginable ways.

We were thinking: Why not?

So we stopped thinking. And we acted.