We settled our bills and said goodbye to the guards and cooks and began our final visits to the two schools we missed. Our final destination is Mazar from where we will fly tomorrow “sometime” to Istanbul and then on to Kenya.
So cool to see kids that were on dirt floors being able to sit at a desk and study in a clean environment. Thanks to so many that believed in the future of Afghan children.
New Library and science lab
Reviewing the records for purchases. Azalea, Project Manager Javid, and school officials
On the road to Mazar, we were told that for security reasons we might have to switch cars part way to Mazar. At a certain point a car was waiting. We got out of our red car and jumped into the blue Toyota and off we went. The red car goes ahead in case there are road blocks. The blue car went ahead while we were at the school.
We made it to Mazar without any issues. Soldiers looked in the car at check stops but never asked us to come out. They think I am from Bangladesh and getting ransom money from there will be difficult.
Mazar is a big city and we are told this is very safe. Tomorrow Ramadan starts so the city is very busy. We now have a decent hotel and little security. This is our hotel – 4th floor $12 a night. Holiday here is in order
Our Project Manager Javid is an amazing partner. His accounting and procurement process is the best. I have 5KG of paper work. That’s what we have been doing for a few hours – USD 350,000 worth of projects since my last visit is being looked at.
Being in Mazar without security gave us the freedom to go around and check on the lost suitcase that has not shown up yet. Then to see one of my favorite sites the Blue Mosque. It is believed that Ali the son in law of Mohamed is buried here.
Tomorrow “sometime” we will be in Istanbul.