This past semester, during the middle school’s Skills and Incubator classes, a group of 11 Middle School girls participated in class led by English teacher Beth Repp and drama teacher Matthew Wiggin, in preparation for Mr. Wiggin’s trip to Rwanda to teach both Public Speaking and drama for two weeks. This class took a deep dive into understanding the SOLA program which stands for the School of Leadership Afghanistan. They have learned about the school, education in Afghanistan, and what life is like under Taliban rule.
The SOLA mission states: “Our mission is, and always has been, to educate Afghan girls. Our vision is of a generation of compassionate and confident Afghan women with the leadership skills to rebuild Afghanistan and guide their homeland into a better future.”
Ms. Repp shared more about the history of the school. “The School of Leadership Afghanistan used to be located in Afghanistan until the Taliban took over the country, and the girls could not go to school,” Ms Repp shared. “Girls above sixth grade were now forbidden an education.” A wonderful woman, though, was able to help these girls after Rwanda opened its arms and welcomed them in to continue their education in a hotel.
Mr. Wiggin was granted the opportunity to travel to Rwanda for two weeks, teaching the students public speaking and drama. As a class, the students from KO wrote letters and made friendship bracelets for Mr. Wiggin to bring with him on his trip. In addition to their letters and bracelets, they all brought in stacks of their favorite books to send to the girls in Rwanda. When Mr. Wiggin came back, he returned with letters from the girls in Rwanda, along with friendship bracelets. “We have plans for how we would like this to evolve, and we are hoping that this could turn into a future pen-pal relationship between these girls,” Ms. Repp said.
Mr. Wiggin shared that on his trip he was truly impacted by the feeling of teaching and knowing that every single person in that classroom is truly listening and soaking it all up. “We were talking about what passion is and what they’re passionate about, and almost all of them said education,” he said. “There is a very high expectation of all of them to be advocates, and there’s a reason that when they go to school, they still have Islamic and cultural studies because the hope is that these become the female leaders of tomorrow in Afghanistan.”
Mr. Wiggin likes to think of his trip in three sections. “One section was Rwanda and experiencing it, which was in itself a fascinating experience,” he said. “Another segment was working and teaching and learning, and the last section was going and being able to see the mountain gorillas.” All three of these segments were different yet connected in so many ways. “In all three of these arenas, I saw the best and worst of humanity staring at each other,” he said.
The teaching experience was one that Mr. Wiggin will never forget. These girls, having been sent to Rwanda to learn, still have family stuck under Taliban rule. What this means for the girls is that if their picture or faces gets associated with the school on the website, or online, their parents could be killed. This would be solely because they are young girls getting educated.
After returning from his trip, Mr. Wiggin tried to put into words the experience he had and the emotions he felt. “The first word that comes to mind is humbling, and I don’t know if I have the words to describe it yet,” he said. “Processing, still processing. Never once in my life have I so repetitively opened the heart, let the heart fall out, somebody stomps on it, but then somebody else comes, picks it up, puts it in, and sews it back up.”
With many days feeling like a movie, Mr. Wiggin came back with an experience that he will truly never forget. Making an impact on both the Rwandan and KO girls, Mr. Wiggin and Ms. Repp truly led an inspirational class that will have an everlasting impact.
