Today’s Good People, Good Works will be presented in Dari and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Spanish.

We first arrived in Chicago (USA) and then we were there for six months. There weren’t a lot of Afghans; there were only a couple of families and some people didn’t even know where Afghanistan was.

Our delightful greetings to you kind viewers to another edition of Good People, Good Works. Today we feature Part 2 of our program on the Afghan Coalition, a non-profit community-based umbrella organization which is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA.

We are coming from a diverse culture. Arab people came to Afghanistan, Eastern European people came to Afghanistan. Alexander the Great and also Genghis Khan came to Afghanistan. So a lot of different people they came to Afghanistan or they went through Afghanistan to the Middle East or to Asia. So we have very diverse people and also if you look at my family of six sisters with six difference faces. Some are very wide and fine hair and almost blonde and green eyes, and some have dark hair with brown eyes.

Afghanistan is located in heart of Asia, which is an area approximately 250,000 square miles the size of Texas (USA). Three-fifths of Afghanistan is mountains. Pamir is the highest mountain which is called the “world’s terrace.” Around these famous hills and mountains, many historical heritages can be found which represent the ancient arts and civilization of the Sassanid, Greco, Bactrian, Greco Budick, Kushani, and Islamic civilizations. So Afghanistan is one of the most historical lands in the world.

The Coalition is creating an ever brighter future for the peace-loving Afghan-Americans residing in Northern California, USA through a variety of social service programs and events. It has been estimated that more Afghans live in this region, particularly southern Alameda County, than anywhere else in the world outside of Afghanistan. Some say as many as 50,000 Afghans reside in this area.

Since its founding, the Afghan Coalition has grown to become the largest Afghan-American organization in the United States. It is comprised of nine non-profit member organizations including the Afghan Women's Association International, the Society of Afghan Professionals, the Institute of Afghan Studies, and the Afghan Friends Network.

The Afghan Women’s Association International played a major role in the formation of the Coalition. The Association has been in existence since 1992 and has members in Afghanistan, Europe, Pakistan and the United States. In the past, the Association has provided aid to their homeland in the form of clothes, food and medicine for people living in refugee camps located in the city of Jalalabad and funds for schools to purchase supplies and furniture.

And then some Afghan groups came here, Afghan professionals, Afghan football league and also different Afghan elderly programs. And many programs came together and built the Afghan Coalition. We were the first step in building this coalition, the Afghan Women’s Association International in Northern California. After that another group came and joined us and we built the Afghan Coalition.

Rona Popal, executive director of the Coalition next speaks about the kind of help that her group offers to new Afghan immigrants to the USA.

We’re trying to talk to them about the rules, regulations and about what to do to go find a job. If they cannot find a job, where to go to apply for social services, where to go for applying for housing, and step by step, we are helping them so they can start their life in United States. They have PG&E bills to pay. They don’t know how to pay that. And there are a lot of problems. And also how to talk with their doctors. And we are the one, calling or going to the doctors and helping them in that.

Through various events and activities, the Afghan Coalition provides the opportunity for Afghan-Americans to honor their beautiful culture.

We celebrated the first New Year and the first Independence Day in order to teach our community members how to get together and how to have fun and also remember their culture, and teach the next generation.

This is the land of opportunity, as a woman, as a human being, I have the right to do whatever I want to do. For example, what kind of job I want to do or where I want to go to study. It’s wonderful, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of writing, freedom of living, wherever we want to live. These are the values that are very important to Afghan culture and the people and that’s why we feel very comfortable to live in the United States, because they have the same value system as we have.

The people who are here they are trying to go back to their old culture. Afghans are very friendly, and they love for guests to come to their house and they are very hospitable and very trustworthy.

When we come back, we’ll learn some of the ways the Afghan Coalition is supporting the people of Afghanistan. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

I really want to share with the world that, let’s take care of each other; let’s bring peace in the world. Let’s think about what we can do to help our children, our sisters and brothers around the world. That’s what my message is.

Welcome back to today’s edition of Good People, Good Works featuring the Afghan Coalition, a non-profit community based umbrella organization that seeks to create a constructive future for Afghan-Americans by building self-sufficiency within the community, developing youth leadership, and promoting unity.

One of the popular Afghan Coalition initiatives is called the “Jewellery Making Program” which started in 2007 with the vision of helping Afghan women become more self-sufficient by teaching them a handicraft that can generate income as well as provide valuable business experience. Jewellery making is taught in a three hour workshop along with money management, budgeting, marketing and other entrepreneurial skills.

Recently the Coalition held an event called the “Afghan Bazaar Boutique” which provided an avenue for program participants to share their talents and creativity with the public.

I came here; I learned how to make jewellery. Yes. It’s very fun. It’s fun. You like to make it every day. But it’s hard work. It is very difficult.

It’s a hobby, and I do it at home. Maybe for one of them, for example, this one, to make it takes maybe three or four days.

Some of the program participants are also skilled in other arts.

This is from Jaji. The nomads! The nomads of Afghanistan wear this a lot though people in Kabul prefer it too, the youngsters and small girls. It is knitted by hand; It is always hand knit. The nomads, the people of Jaji… this is their daily dress, and people in Kabul wear it for parties.

Beside its work in the United States, the Afghan Coalition also has several programs to boost the development of Afghanistan. The Cob housing project seeks to promote the construction of affordable and culturally acceptable housing in the villages and rural areas of Afghanistan. The housing is made of readily available natural building materials namely earth, sand, clay, straw and water. Cob houses are cool in summer and warm in winter and are very environmentally friendly.

In the future the Afghan Coalition intends to send four engineers to Afghanistan to train locals how to make easy-to-build structures with these materials. Another program is the Afghan Widow Project that teaches widowed women various trade skills so that they can eventually open a business and earn income. In the process they can become independent and better able to care for their family.

These women inside Kabul, in the capital can know about sewing, and also learn their language so that they can be literate and also they can start their business by sewing, embroidery, or any other thing that they have that talent for so they can be self sufficient. We are helping those people.

The Sister School initiative supported by the Coalition provides materials and financial aid to schools in Afghanistan.

And also there are a lot of schools that we did send money to, to help them, support them.

Besides helping settle those Afghans who are new to America as well as aiding social development in Afghanistan, Another important aspect of the Afghan Coalition is its promotion of peace, harmony and understanding between the Afghan people and those of other cultures and ethnic groups.

We learn a lot from the world, from the people. Communicate with different people, have a relationship. I really advise if you want to know about Afghans, or Muslims, or Islam, you need to go to them, reach out and talk to them. The most important is in order to bring peace, reach out. This is what you need, that’s all.

You don’t need to spend money or gold or billions of dollars in order to be a friend. No, you need to reach out, you need to show your affection for another and believe me they will love you. We have a lot of friends in United States, Christians, Jewish, Buddhist, and Sikh people, and we have a lot of friends around us and that’s why and we are happy and comfortable.

Afghans like other immigrant groups brought with them their lifestyle and culture, adding to the diversity of the Bay Area (USA). Now twenty five years later, Afghan Americans have established a successful community. Respected for their hard work and achievements in business, social, and educational circles, they have established a successful presence throughout the Bay Area. Afghans are justifiably proud of their success in this country as business professionals, doctors, lawyers, police officers, social workers, beauticians, and high school and university students.

Afghans as other communities in the Bay Area would like to preserve their cultural identity and put a positive role in the American democratic system.

I am proud to be an Afghan.

I am an Afghan.

I am an Afghan.

I am an Afghan.

I am one real Afghan.

I am an Afghan American.

We are Afghan Americans.

We offer our heartfelt thanks to the Afghan Coalition for caring for Afghans both in the USA and Afghanistan, promoting the elegant culture of Afghanistan, and building bridges between Afghan-Americans and people of all backgrounds. May the Coalition enjoy continued success in all of its endeavors.

For more details on the Afghan Coalition, please visit www.AfghanCoalition.org

Graceful viewers, thank you for your company today on Good People, Good Works. The World Around Us is next after Noteworthy News. May your hearts be blessed with Heavenly thoughts.

Yoshikazu Kawaguchi teaches others his Natural Farming method where fertilizers and agricultural chemicals are not used and tilling of the land is not required.

What made you come here and study the Natural Farming?

Basically, because of the same reason Mr. Kawaguchi has changed to the Natural Farming method. I used to engage in agriculture with agricultural chemicals. But I didn’t like it because I didn’t feel well afterwards.

Be sure to watch Part 2 of “Yoshikazu Kawaguchi’s Natural Farming Method” this Wednesday, February 24 on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home.