Spirit of America's Blog

Last week, one of our Field Representatives, Toby Bonthrone, signed a contract with the NGO, Afghan Rural Empowerment and Support Organization (ARESO). ARESO will be the training provider for our stonemasonry skills project in an important sub-district of Kandahar City.

We previously worked with ARESO on our masonry pilot project in the Arghandab River Valley, and were very impressed with the quality of training and the high level of accountability this NGO offers. The latter is particularly important for us, so that we can be fully confident that not a penny of your donations will be wasted in the upcoming training. Spirit of America's unique position allows us to cut out the middlemen that are so prevalent in the Afghan development sector. We were also able to negotiate the project costs to the point that we will provide fair wages for all participants, without overpaying and thereby distorting the local job market and economy.

Field Rep. Toby Bonthrone & a representative of ARESO signing the contract

Hi All,

This morning's call with General (Ret.) Jack Keane was very informative and interesting. We wish to extend our thanks to General Keane for taking the time to speak with us, and with everyone who participated.

Spirit of America, a non-partisan and non-political organization, organized this call in order to give people the opportunity to hear first hand the insights and opinions of General Keane.

During the call CEO and Founder Jim Hake spoke briefly about Spirit of America, what we do and why we do it. General Keane then continued the conversation, covering topics from how Spirit of America helps the needs of the people, to major take-aways he has gained from his personal interactions in dealing with Afghanistan, to current security efforts and ongoing successes and issues.

Listen to the call here:

Thank you again to General Keane, and please stayed tuned for similar calls with other key players in Afghanistan.

Rachael Kleinberger
Partnerships Manager

As winter continues, it is a fact that soldiers cannot just have a weapon to do their job, but must have the right gear as well. To help the Special Forces unit mentoring Afghan Local Police in one of the rural districts here in Kandahar Province, I was able to procure from the local economy, hats, gloves, socks, and blankets to give to one town's Afghan Local Police unit.

SoA Field Rep. Mike Press handing out winter items

While the equipment will definitely keep them warm and let them continue their missions as they man their security checkpoints and go on patrol to protect their homes in the area, the provided equipment, just like the tourniquets they also received, also builds bonds between them and their US Special Forces partners.

The pictures shown are from a medical class that a US Army medical officer, in support of a Special Forces team, gave to local Afghan Police in Panjwai District, Kandahar Province. The class taught the policemen how to utilize specialized tourniquets to prevent blood loss if wounded from enemy contact.

US Army medical officer and SoA Field Rep Mike Press

Spirit of America procured these tourniquets in response to the Special Forces unit that helps train and work alongside these policemen. In the words of one of the members of the SF unit at the class, "The tourniquets handed out today will definitely be used, and will hopefully save someone's life, maybe even one of ours [an SF team member]."

Spirit of America is excited to announce a new stonemasonry training program that will soon spearhead much-needed vocational training programs in one of Kandahar City's key sub-districts.

Stakeholders for new stonemasonry training program discuss the curriculum in the SoA-renovated Jahani Room

Supporting Task Force Warhorse and the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team's efforts to assist the Afghan government in bringing long-term security to Kandahar City, we are going to fund an expanded version of our pilot masonry training program that took place in the Arghandab district late last year.

We invite you to join us for a conference call with Spirit of America Advisory Board member retired General Jack Keane. General Keane just returned from Afghanistan where he met with SoA's Field Rep Mike Press and Army units we are supporting.

General Keane served as four-star General and Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. He played a critical role in conceiving and overseeing the "surge" in Iraq. Read more about General Keane here. Here he is in a great 2008 story in The Wall Street Journal.

On the conference call he will share his observations about Afghanistan, progress, challenges and Spirit of America. There will be an opportunity to ask General Keane questions.

When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 12pm Eastern. Duration 30 minutes.
RSVP: Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  if you would like to RSVP to join the call. Please note you do not have to RSVP to participate.
Details: On February 8th at 12:00PM Eastern, dial into the conference line (conference line: 559-726-1200) and when prompted enter the access code (access code: 613124) followed by the pound key.

Attached are pictures from a kite-flying event that occurred in Zhari just recently. 3/10MTN asked if Spirit of America could help procure these kites . Kite flying in this area of the world has been occurring for many centuries and thus is inherent in the combined culture of the Afghan people.

A young boy getting ready to fly his brand new kite

Unfortunately, like many sources of joy for the Afghan people, like music and art, kite-flying was also banned by the Taliban in the late-1990's when they rose to power. The kites seen here are locally-made, from centuries of practice and reached heights surpassing even those of the helicopters providing security.

Blankets donated by Spirit of America are unloaded by U.S. Forces

Last month, Spirit of America assisted the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team by providing blankets and hygiene items (bought from a local vendor) to distribute to women prisoners in Kandahar City's Sarposa Prison and the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center.

Afghan prisons aren't particularly renowned for their high standards. Conditions can be particularly harsh for women prisoners, especially those with children. These children often live with their mothers in the prisons, deprived of comfort and opportunity.