Farzana was five when Taliban forces along with Arabs and Pakistani militants raided Yakaolong, a district in Bamyan province that is home to the Hazara minority. It was January of 2001, the Taliban’s grip was as strong as ever. The marauders of Yakaolong were following the decree of their spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, who had ordered them to “Behead all men whose age is greater than 12, let it be a warning lesson for the Sadat and Hazara survivors of the Yakaolang.” And they did with mighty cruelty, beheading over 300 men on one day, including Farzana’s father and many of her relatives.

Farzan and her sister were among few the surviving children that were taken to the orphanage. Farzana. A small kid that had been badly affected by that tragedy, she soon emerged as a firebrand student, and buried all those miseries and hardships with a strong commitment to work hard. This little master of computer with a magic power of drawing and good command over English language became an icon for the other children. She translated the letters that came from sponsors to children and helped the children write back to their sponsors.

When the opportunity came to send two of the children to a satellite program in Italy, for them to live with a host family and go to a world-class school, Farzana was an easy choice. She is now 15. She is interested in becoming a journalist. Her passion for language may one day become manifest. Already she knows four: Pashtu, Dari, English, and Italian. She returns to her beloved orphanage every summer, and each year she grows stronger and more confident. When she speaks of her future, it is always framed by her desire to one day help her people and her country realize the same kind of peace and equality as the orphanage has given to her.