A tribute to the Arghosha sanctuary who gave the name to our first school

In October 2023 Marco decided to go back to Afghanistan to assess the situation of our activities there. It was a long travel of 1000km from Nili, in Daikundi province, to Bamiyan. It also took many diversions to visit six schools in four different districts (Nili, Panjab, Yakawlang, Bamiyan). Marco hadn’t been around for 3 years, since November 2019,  because of Covid travel restricions, deep political changes with the return of a Taliban government and the loss of Maria Rosario. The travel started ideally with a visit to Arghosha, the site where stands a sanctuary who gave the name to our first school and after that to our organisation. The name of the area apparently goes back to the very first centuries AD, at the time of the Indian Mauryan Empire with the evidence of some ancient ruins in the surroundings.

What is relevant to our story, is a building where a wise man is buried. The man was a respected islamic scholar and was victim of an ambush and killed in that very place about 5 centuries ago. Ever since, a building was erected to host his grave and he is venerated as a martyr. Everyday, people are passing by and visiting the place saying prayers and bringing presents and offers, having a picnic close to a nearby small stream.

Marco posing with the guardian of the holy Arghosha site

For us it was a symbolic way to restart our commitment to Afghanistan and in particular to a region where we paid so many visits and met so many dedicated people in the last 20 years. The Sanctuary stands about 15 km from our first school of  Khakdaw Zardigah North of the legendary Band e Amir Lakes, but we never found a moment for a proper diversion and we thought that this was the right time to do so.  We were blessed with a mild sunny day and we were honoured to have a brief encounter with the guardian of the place. Let us hope that our visit will be a good omen for the future.

Marco posing with the driver Juma by Arghosha sanctuary