Young Faces of Afghanistan

Rianna Starheim ’14 spent the summer of 2014 teaching at Afghanistan’s only boarding school for girls and working at shelters for survivors of gender-based violence. Her photos capture the lives of children who have never lived in a country without war.

Rianna P. Starheim ’14 spent the summer of 2014 living and teaching at Afghanistan’s only boarding school for girls and working at Kabul-area shelters for survivors of gender-based violence. Her photos offer a glimpse into the daily lives of children who have never lived in a country without war.

Children at a women’s shelter put the finishing touch on a mural: their handprint signatures.

A student at the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) learned to skate at Skatestan, an NGO that teaches skateboarding as a means for youth empowerment.

Only after a couple of panicked conversations—and some crying—did we make clear that dumping ice water over our heads would not give us all ALS. Once the girls understood what the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was all about—and that it wouldn’t put them in mortal danger—they were on board.

SOLA students come from diverse geographical and socioeconomic backgrounds to live and study at the school, the only girls’ boarding school in the country.

One day in the SOLA safe room, after a powerful explosion nearby, this young student asked me if bombings happen very often in America. “Here explosions are happening all the time,” she said. “I have seen so many explosions. I hate this kind of thing.”

The Mobile Mini Circus for Children camp provides workshops and classes at Kabul-area camps, incorporating leadership, teamwork and performance skills into their programs.

A resident of the Baghlan internally displaced person (IDP) camp juggles a set of homemade pins fashioned from taped Coca Cola bottles, old tennis balls and sticks. She is a member of the circus’ Taban team, a group of young camp leaders who serve as role models, lead circus workshops at the camp and help younger residents develop their juggling, acrobatics and teamwork skills. Taban translates to “sunlight” in Dari.

A young member of the Mobile Mini Circus for Children shows off his acrobatic skills. I was confused when he asked me if I had Facebook—we were an hour outside the city with no running water or electricity. The camp elder rolled his eyes. “Modern refugees,” he said.

The United Nations high commissioner for refugees estimates that there are 600,000 IDPs in Afghanistan, including this resident of the QalaBarqi IDP camp.

A resident of the Baghlan IDP camp practices his acrobatics at the Mobile Mini Circus for Children headquarters. “Some organizations are working with food,” said circus employee Fardin Barakzai. “Some are working with education. We are working with fun and smiles.”