Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome,
and it's time now for our community connection right here on K one,
the one you trust. Right now, it is ninety five and we have
some special guests on the phone that we're going to speak to in just a
moment. Today we're going to be talking about a very special event that's coming
up. It is going to be a nice little fundraiser here. It's called
Afghan We Can and it's coming up on October seventh, and it benefits Rajah's
Ray of Hope Girls School in Afghanistan. And on the telephone with me here
I have Andrea and Rajah herself all the way from Boston. How are we
doing today, ladies, Good morning, good morning, how are you.
I'm very well. I'm Razia and I'm with andreas executive director for the program
that has been going for almost twenty years. And we are very happy and
thankful to the community that always welcomes us and have great events and really helps
us to go forward in this hard time that we are facing. But fortunately
my school is safe. My school is up to date with all the students
in there. We have close to a thousand girls and right now we have
up to sixth grade that the school is open. But I hope and I'm
working on that coming this year, which the school years start in March,
that my senior girls from seven to twelve grades will be also allowed to come
back to school. That would be that would be awesome. We thank you
very much, and you know, we just we are really people that we
just think and thank God and never know what tomorrow brings. And so it's
something that this is my motto, and but we go if we can go
one inch forward, we can help one girl, one family. And I
think I have to tell you something very special that for the past few years,
we are helping the families do good with food and supplies because most of
the men have lower jobs and we have a lot of girls that need help
with everything that they can survivealce on a daily basis. Also, we have
a widows program that we have about many I think forty one families that have
no husbands or no support and there's a program that we help them on monthly
basis for each child, for them and for their families to have food on
their able and to have clothed on them and to have shoes on their feet,
so I think and this your town has been amazing, Your people have
been amazing. They have such a great help to us. It's almost not
twenty years really that long that it seems like it's been going by kind quickly.
I mean, it's something that we do, it is. It is
amazing. And the you know, I lie mostly the community is such a
great community. And also the Rotary Club of that area is just fantastic,
so much kind and open their hearts to our mission. And I think I
contact you guys, all of you enough, you know, so just to
keep us going really well, we're gonna have a big event. It's a
casino night and it's going to be on Saturday at six thirty pm at timber
Oaks Event Venue on Highway sixty right here in bartlesvilm and folks can come out,
have fun and help benefit the Afghanistan Girls School that JA has created in
order to provide this education in a bright future. And Rasha, you know,
since the last time we spoke, things have changed in Afghanistan quite drastically,
but you've been able to navigate locally with the people and the powers that
be in order to keep your school open. Many feared that it may gem
may close it, and it didn't. It didn't really, and it's amazing
that talibands now for two years, yes, and over two years now,
but you know, not one day that they have stopped our van with teachers
that come from Cobble and question that where these women are going or our students
that are coming in buses. If they never stop so or question us.
I think we are very careful how we operate and how we work within this
system. I told the Minister of Education, the new one that is a
piet, and I said, you know, I'm a beggar and I want
to see what you can put in my play. And I think he was
shocked and he said, you know, we give you everything that you want.
And so I think that's what's happening. Unfortunately, you know, the
seniors from seven to twelfth grade, they have missed two years of their life
of education. But what we have done is that our teachers, two of
our teachers every day sits in a van with a bundle of books and they
go house to house where our students are from seven to twelfth grade, and
they get together in their house and they provide them books. And every two
weeks, then they go back and exchange the books. So at least I
think we are doing something for these girls who are stuck at home. I
think things are not the best, but we have no threats, we have
nothing of that side, and we are okay. You know something right here,
I met you and you impressed me as a woman who shows no fear.
Well, yeah, I think that's the best thing to do. I
mean, what are they going to kill me? One good? Good for
them, But I get you know, two years to go. The first
time when I went, I went to the airport and I was just getting
off and looking for my suitcases, and I saw a young man Talib,
standing with a gun in a corner, checking everybody who's coming and was going.
The first thing I did is I went to him and I said,
come on here, son, I need your help, come and find my
suitcases. And I gave him the tags and he left his gun and he
started to look for my suitkads. So he forgot to God and look at
who's coming and who's going. So I think we have to find ways to
survive, and by engaging is probably the best because you're going to find a
connection point somewhere and you really got a great on. Yeah. As I
say all the time, I said, beggars are no choosers, and right
now we are beggars and whatever they put in a plate, we take it.
And I think we can do things, you know, just the way
we want to. But it's a kind of a little different way, you
know. So it's been assary. I mean, these kids are going to
school and I hope and I pray that I think they are going to allow
the seventh to twelve grade this coming year. Let's hope. So let's hope
the girls get back. It's been two years and they need to resume their
studies so they can absolutely do everything they can be absolutely. So it's just,
you know, this is the world we facing and everywhere you know,
there's something going on, and we are one of them, and we are
s viving and I think that's what we can do. Well, hopefully we
can turn that survive to thrive. Pretty sure, it's not happy. They
have a place to come and we have built this beautiful new school that you
know, it's just gordeous awesome for the kids and for the staff, and
we have a beautiful area that these girls can go and play and to have
games. And so I think we are trying very hard to keep these girls
happy and healthy and help their families. I like the part that you told
me earlier that this is not just for the girls, but it is also
for the families, also for the widows, for the people at home,
because you were telling me that the men in some cases don't have jobs,
so the conditions are kind of bleak for everyone in the area. Absolutely,
and men are so scared because they were working in different places and they are
scared that if they go, you know, continue or whatever, they they
might be taken away or whatever their problems are. So you know, majority
men are unemployed, and so we are the one that are trying to help,
you know, these widows and and these girls. And we have a
program that a lot of widows they work, we give them these they make
us little embroidered kites, which again kite is of freedom. You fly and
you you know, just go, if the string breaks, you go somewhere
and nobody can stop. So I think this is what we are doing with
the girls that who are at home, that they are helping us make these
employs as these kites, and then we can give it to our supporters as
a thank you and remind them that these girls needs help. So I think
it says something that continuously we are trying to help the girls first of all,
and then of course their families, and we have you know, organizations
like yours and others that help us. And it's amazing what your community is
doing. I can't tang them enough. Well, we thank you, and
we can't wait for your arrival. I understand you're coming in I think tomorrow
or the next day as we get ready for the big event on the seventh.
J has always it has been a deep pleasure for us to have you
on our program today. I want to thank you. Can we to come
back here in the high school too, because that's very important for our community
or your community young people to understand how lucky they are, you know,
but we have made things easy for our students. Do very good, Raja,
thank you and bless you, and we will see you very soon here
in the next few days in Bartlesville. Thank you, Thank you very much
for your health and just your radio station is a start, and thank you
thank you for having us all right, bye bye. Now we've been listening
to Raja John and she has the Rajah's Ray of Hope School in Afghanistan and
it's for girls. And if you're not familiar with how things go and Afghanistan,
well they don't really like women being educated. It's a very different place
in the world. So we're doing everything to help keep the doors open of
that school in Afghanistan. And so we're having Afghanistan wecan fundraiser October seventh with
the Daybreak Rotary and that'll be at timber Oakes Venue, Hiway sixty barn of
the film Casino Night. Come on out, have some fun, let's raise
some money.