Lausanne World Pulse – World Pulse Archives – World Pulse Archives

Recently a group of us outsiders came to Afghanistan to see where and how we could develop projects that would provide critical, yet long-term help for the country. Where should groups like ours begin? Should we, like dozens of other groups, try to develop educational projects? Should we concentrate on medical clinics, especially clinics for women and children, those most affected by the cultural and religious pressures on women?

A conversation with a government minister left a lasting impression on us. With great animation, he began talking about the country’s needs, especially the older people so deeply entrenched in cultural and religious traditions.

“These old people,” he exclaimed, “they’re lost! There’s little hope for them. We must concentrate on the young people, the ones we can help, the ones who can change.”

Of course, he didn’t use the word “lost” in the way a Christian would understand it. He surely meant that efforts to bring these older people-shackled with illiteracy, many in poor health and starvation-level poverty-into the twenty-first century would be an impossible task. But, of course, we mentally processed the word in every sense of the meaning-spiritually, socially and economically. Concentrating on education is not entirely the answer. The government has arranged for a standard curriculum for the country, but the material is drenched with Islamic fundamentalism. Education in local languages will be a step in the right direction, but many believe that only a strong English program will enable young people to develop skills to help Afghanistan connect with the outside world. If Afghanistan continues in its current direction, its people are, as the government minister says, truly lost. But there is still time to hope. Reaching the lost, as anywhere else in the world, will require nothing short of divine intervention. It will come through a renewed barrage of prayer, an army of dedicated workers and a massive outpouring of generosity from Christians around the world.