June 2

This morning I read the April 2002 edition of National Geographic. This issue describes how a team from National Geographic took Steve McCurry to Pakistan to see if they could find the woman who was photographed and put on the cover of the June 1985 issue. The photo is probably the most powerful portrait I’ve ever seen. The story tells of Sharbat’s difficult life. Her story is as tragic as the original photo is hauntingly beautiful. Her brother says, “Sharbat has never known a happy day except perhaps the day of her marriage.”

I was moved by the article to write Steve and see if it would be okay to include in this website journal the information about a charity that National Geographic set up to help educate Afghan girls. I wanted to make sure the fund was still operational or to see if there might be any other options. Here is the response from Steve’s assistant:

“Steve McCurry, the National Geographic photographer whose 1984 portrait of the Afghan Girl is world-renowned, has just visited the Bhavana Society in West Virginia for his current NG assignment on Buddhism.

"Sharbat Gula, the Afghan girl, was rediscovered in March 2002. Sharbat asked that the society start a charity to help other young Afghan girls in need of an education, instead of receiving monetary compensation. Contributions can be made online to the National Geographic Afghan Girls Fund, or by sending a check directly to:

National Geographic Afghan Girls Fund, Development Office
National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

Also, Steve recently started a nonprofit with a group of colleagues called ImagineAsia:
http://www.imagine-asia.org/

"The first project is in the Bamiyan region of Afghanistan, working with local schools to provide salaries for teachers, school supplies, and to open a health care center on site. Over the course of the next few years ImagineAsia plans to open similar programs in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, and Tibet.

Thanks again for your support and interest. Watch for the National Geographic Buddhism article, released December 2005.”