Where you look, and what you find

I saw a stunning scene today in front of my office. Because of rain yesterday, the roads are muddy and hard to traverse without getting soiled.

So, one young boy and one young girl were standing in front of the office, picking up something from the mud. I was driving by, and had to lean closer to see what they were picking up. I saw that they were picking up their school books, which somehow fell on the mud. But they were doing it very carefully, so that the mud didn't soil inside the book.

I zoomed by, so didn't have time to take a photo or talk to anyone. I had two quick thoughts about the scenario.

My first thought was, it would be nice if they had bags, or even a plastic bag to carry their books. One of the things on the mud was a bright blue notebook with UNICEF marked prominently across the front. Maybe, someone could donate school bags? With One Laptop per Child initiative thinking of providing computers to children in Peru, surely someone could raise $3 per Afghan child for a protective encasing for their books?

My second thought was, these kids are so lucky to be able to go to school again, a bag is not the first thing in their mind. In previous regimes, where girls were confined to homes, and only madrasahs were allowed, they would not know of a better life. But the fact that a girl has the necessary books is a sea change from 6 years ago.