On August 19th, 1919 King Amanullah signed the Treaty of Rawalpindi, guaranteeing Afghan independence from Britain. Celebrating this day is especially important at AFCECO orphanages. Three weeks of preparation culminated in an outdoor, three hour extravaganza, under a canopy where the audience including members of the public could relax with a breeze floating through while being protected from the hot afternoon sun.

The entire affair is a learning experience, as the children themselves organize and produce the event (with a little guidance).

The stage was adorned with various celebratory banners, flowers were arranged and decorations that exemplified a strong belief in their homeland’s independence, its beauty and its strength.

This year’s festivities highlighted many of the new programs at AFCECO. The gymnastics and martial arts classes each performed their own exhibition of skills they have been learning, including tumbling, kicks, splits and feats of balance.

The drama group performed a Greek Tragedy translated into Dari, adapted from Prometheus (Un)Bound by Aeschylus, in which they utilized traditional elements such as a chorus with masks they had made themselves.

Children also held contests in poetry composition (boys against girls) and short answers. Boys won the poetry by a hair, but the girls won short answers. Then there were presentations of poetry in Pashto, Dari and English, including one recital of Hamlet’s famous speech “What a piece of work is man”. Children performed several Afghan patriotic songs, and one American folk song hailing from the anti-war movement of the sixties.

The sunset brought a feast to break Roza (fasting), to which all who attended were invited. This was a perfect end to a day of hope for the future of Afghanistan.