Windward School's student body held a Skype conversation Tuesday with students from Garmsir, Afghanistan, as part of a joint effort with the NGO Spirit of America's Afghanistan Children's School Project and the U.S. Marines.
Spirit of America works with U.S. troops to provide humanitarian aid to those living in Afghanistan.
After the previous night's webcam test, Windward's Ethics in Action class, cofounded by Brice Green ('11) and Danielle Katz ('11), had the opportunity to converse with their peers on the other side of the globe.
The two students, along with Grant Klein ('13), Willow Karfiol ('14), and Isaiah Evans ('12), presented photos of their families and hobbies, while two students from the Kodoala Drab School asked such questions as whether the Windward students carried cellphones, were they on Facebook, whether they liked to cook and did they have high marks in school.
Katz even spoke a few words in Pashto, the Afghan language, as the Marines in Afghanistan handed out backpacks to the Kodoala students that had been shipped to them full of school supplies stuffed by Windward students.
Kevin Newman, the associate director of the upper school and co-leader of the Ethics in Action class, chaired the evening. He opened by introducing Spirit of America CEO Jim Hake, who taught the Windward students about Helmand Province, where Kodoala is located, and how the Taliban impedes education.
Other participants included United States Marine Corps personnel Maj. Nina D'Amato and Maj. Gen. Richard Mills and his wife Pat, who volunteers with Spirit of America.
