FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH ATTENDS THE AFGHAN
CHILDREN INITIATIVE AT THE EMBASSY OF AFGHANISTAN
Embassy of Afghanistan
03/16/2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – First Lady Laura Bush
attended a dinner reception to benefit AYENDA, the Afghan Children
Initiative, at the Embassy of Afghanistan on March 16, 2006.
AYENDA, or “Future,” is a program of the US-Afghan
Women's Council aimed at promoting the welfare, education, and
health of Afghan children. The First Lady is a member of the
Council, which President George Bush and President Karzai founded
in January 2002. Mrs. Bush has visited Afghanistan twice to
highlight the US commitment to helping Afghan women and children,
and is a strong supporter of the Afghan Children Initiative.
Commenting on AYENDA, First Lady Bush stated:
“Afghanistan's future depends on literate, educated, and
healthy children. This terrific initiative that we're all here
to support tonight will make a difference. Through this program,
we can all have a direct impact on Afghan children and their
families. Each of us can give them the opportunities to do things
that were once thought impossible dreams.”
The event also featured Dr. Khaled Hosseini, author
of the international bestseller The Kite Runner, as a guest
of honor. Dr. Hosseini spoke about the plight of Afghan children
to help raise funds for educational programs in Afghanistan’s
Bamiyan province—home to the giant Buddha statutes destroyed
by the Taliban in 2000—where poverty is affecting children’s
access to education. “The Kite Runner is a book of children,
of lost innocence. There are a lot of children in Afghanistan,
but little childhood,” noted Dr. Hosseini. He said that
with democratic elections and efforts to rebuild the country,
“there is reason to be optimistic” about the future
of Afghan children.
“Afghans today enjoy more political, economic,
and social rights than at any time in the history of our country.
Among all the achievements, nothing is more beautiful and promising
than the sight of Afghan girls in their black and white uniforms,
attending class under a tree in a small village,” Ambassador
Said Tayeb Jawad told a distinguished audience including Secretary
of Defense and Mrs. Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff General and Mrs. Peter Pace.
The Ambassador’s wife, Mrs. Shamim Jawad
who initiated AYENDA and co-chairs it, thanked the First Lady
for her sincere devotion to helping the children of Afghanistan.
“More than one third of Afghanistan’s population
is children. They have been the primary victim of abject poverty,
which engulfs our nation after decades of war and destruction.
We have more than two million orphans alone. Many Afghan children,
especially girls, still lack access to education,” Mrs.
Jawad remarked. “I strongly believe that with the generous
and compassionate support of friends like you, we can work together
to help children live their dreams for a better and secure future
in Afghanistan,” she added.
Other distinguished guests, who attended AYENDA
to benefit the Afghan Children, included Undersecretary of Democracy
and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, Mrs. Kathleen Card, and
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security
Mary Beth Long.
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