We have seen each other before, almost one year to the date. She has been photographed by me before, and her voice is as beautiful as the color of her shawl. Before her madrasa was located in a field between two villages... and now it has moved to one of those villages.
Behind her is the wall of her open classroom. The beautiful fields which surround her village can be seen through the small openings. She, along with her friends, attend religious classes only in her village. She is, according to local thought, too old to continue her formal education... and is to remain close to home at her age.
Nirvana Bodhisattva and Nirvanavan Foundation is working hard in an adjacent village to supply that formal education within the madrasa environment. We witnessed the opening of the first school in this vein, and are happy to report that true progress is being made thanks to Imdadullah Nadvi Nadvi and Kari Shokeen, as well as the dedicated teachers.
We hope to extend such a program to her madrasa, and have a most wonderful headmaster with whom to collaborate in the future. She and her friends deserve so much more of course, and we will do what we can on our end to honor their wishes.
Last year when she and her friends were standing in the back of the truck and waiting for the driver, she began singing so sweetly. It took me a second to locate the source of that sound, but when I did she has the biggest smile on her face. I do hope to see her once again next year, and to see progress being made in her village as well.
Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.
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