At last, a new update on the masonry training project. Spirit of America kindly let me travel back to the United States a bit earlier than usual for a relative's graduation from US Army basic combat training. This, combined with the holiday, kept me away from the keyboard for most of December. Here is the report on Week One of the masonry training project, by our Afghan implementing partner, the Afghanistan Rural Empowerment & Support Organization (ARESO):

"Twenty students representing four villages in the western Arghandab River Valley received basic retaining wall repair, maintenance, and construction training.

Through a generous grant from Spirit of America, these "at risk" men are learning a much needed skill which will provide them upon graduation the means to support themselves and their families. The Arghandab River Valley, on the outskirts of Kandahar City, is largely an agricultural hub with a complicated system of irrigation and drainage canals, many of which are currently in of repair or upgrades.

By teaching groups of men from villages dependent on these canals to build, repair, and maintain these waterways, ISAF can greatly reduce the cost of providing these services through expensive contract companies, most of who are not from Arghandab.

Graduates will be capable of supervising laborers from their villages in proper construction techniques, which will allow for materials-only delivery to sites selected by the villages for upgrades.

After receiving personal tools and safety gear, students were provided on-site classes in basic masonry skills, such as proper cement mixing, clearing operations, stone shaping, and wall design. Immediately following formal instruction, students dug into their work clearing ditches, cutting trees, sapping stones, and laying foundations for retaining walls.

Both students and their maliks (village leader) have been early to work, putting in a full day's labor. All are enthusiastically grasping the knowledge presented by the master masons and are eager to do more. Week two will see the group completing the first project and moving on to begin work on the second."

Things progressed smoothly from the end of Week One to the completion of the training. I was very impressed by all the parties involved in the training, to include the District Governor, the local District Support Team, the trainees, and our implementing partner, ARESO. But I won't get ahead of myself.

Coming up next week: the remainder of the masonry training flies by, and the trainees get ready for graduation.

Toby Bonthrone
Afghanistan Field Rep.