The Journey from the First Afghan Student to the First Afghan Teacher at Living Wisdom

It was January 2023. Life in Afghanistan had become unbearably difficult for girls. For us, education was not just about books or classrooms. It was our only path to freedom, to dreams, to proving to our community that we too could build our country alongside our brothers. For me, school was more than a building; it was a sanctuary of hope. I dreamed of becoming a doctor, of healing the sick and giving families a reason to believe in tomorrow.

But that dream was cut down before it could bear fruit. The day they shut the doors of our school, I stood frozen, staring at the building one last time. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I realized that the magical place I had cherished since childhood, the place where my wishes could turn into reality, was now forbidden to me. For days, I cried. To my family, school had been my only excuse to step outside of time, to live beyond the walls of our home. To everyone who knew me, it looked like I had given up. But deep inside, a small ember of hope still burned.

One day, my mother said gently, “My daughter, why don’t you take my phone and look for online classes?” Her words lit up my eyes. I began searching, and soon I found a free English course taught by American teachers. I was thrilled to study again. After weeks of progress, I asked my instructor if she could help me find an online school to continue my senior year. She gave me a list, but the biggest challenge for an Afghan girl was not just finding opportunities; it was affording them. Tuition fees were thousands of dollars, more than the yearly expenses of my entire family of ten.

Still, I clicked on the website of Living Wisdom Schools with hope in my heart. I filled out their form and waited. Within hours, the director replied, asking me to share more about myself. I poured my soul into my response, attaching thirty certificates of achievement I had earned. When he invited me for an interview, I was so excited that I rocked my chair back and forth until I lost my grip and fell, laughing with joy. Yet fear lingered. What if they didn’t give me a scholarship?

On the day of the interview, my hands trembled as I joined the Zoom call. But the moment I heard Sir Nitai’s kind voice, I felt seen, not judged. He offered me a full scholarship. That day, hope bloomed again.

At Living Wisdom School, I felt alive. Every class opened a new world: creative writing in Self-Expression, calmness in Raja Yoga, mental tricks in Math, mysteries of the universe in Astronomy, and lessons of compassion in World Religions. My classmates were sweet, my teachers supportive. In what felt like the blink of an eye, it was graduation day. I received a Quality Award of Enthusiasm for Life and Curiosity, and when I gave my graduation speech, my academic journey ended with the school, or so I thought. But Sir Nitai continued to guide me, helping me enroll in a bachelor’s program in Health Science just fifteen days later. The school even sent me money to buy my first laptop, a treasure I admired even before sleeping at night.

Then came another miracle. In August, the school asked if I would like to co-teach World Religions. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Not only was I going to teach, but I was also going to be paid. After years of heartbreak, I finally felt unstoppable as Sia sang.

Since then, I have taught courses like World Religions, World History That Matters, and Personal Development. Through my salary, I support my family. One year later, we launched an Afghan branch of the school, with female teachers and over fifty Afghan students. Together, we are reclaiming our dreams.

Personally, I have transformed. Our teacher training in EFL makes our school unique, teaching us to value every student. In World History, we cover many inspiring people. I tell my students the stories of how Mahatma Gandhi led the salt march; how Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in prison to fight for equality; how Ashoka, after the Kalinga War, transformed from a violent king into a Buddhist emperor; how Humayun, the Mughal emperor, died after falling down the stairs because he always bowed in reverence at the call to prayer; how Maximilian Kolbe gave his life in place of a stranger because that man cried that he had children and a wife waiting for him; how Anne Frank spent two years in the secret annex and wrote a treasure of a diary; and how Joan of Arc said, “I am not afraid, I was born to do this!”

In World Religions, we laugh as we wear turbans, fake beards, or rosaries, discovering how compassion and justice unite all faiths. My students rated my class a perfect 10 for fun.

Living Wisdom School changed my life. As a teacher, admin assistant, and co-editor of our magazine, I now live with joy, purpose, and hope. Out of the ashes of despair, I have written my memoir, which will be published soon, and I have gathered my heart into a collection of forty poems. Each poem carries a piece of my struggle, my longing, and my transformation. I am moving forward in life, step by step, with courage that once seemed impossible. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of those who kept Living Wisdom School alive, those who believed in me when the doors of opportunity were slammed shut, and who reminded me that education is not just about knowledge, but about dignity, freedom, and the chance to dream again.

If you ever meet someone from our school, you will hear it in their voice: the happiness of being part of something extraordinary.

And so, I leave you with my poem, written from the heart:

 

Living Wisdom Schools by Samreen Makhfi 

For years I saw them—

children herded to school like leaves caught in the wind

signing thick pages of rules

marching through lessons they would never taste

memorizing words

but never drinking from their meaning

 

yet here, in our Living Wisdom school

the doors open not with force

but with the pull of curiosity

our only law—

be kind to yourself

be kind to each other

and if money is scarce in your hands

offer your service to the world

and knowledge will be your gift from us in return

 

people say that even in in-person schools

under the watchful gaze of principal and staff

students lose focus, lose their taste for learning

but in our online school

hearts and hands work with devotion

our founder reminds us—

happy students learn better

and they are right

in our classes, cameras glow like small windows to each soul

smiles bright as morning sunlight

students arrive early,

not dragged by duty,

but carried by their own eagerness

 

our students do more than read books

they learn the delicate art of living

how to draw water from the well of their own talent

how to stand in the sun of their own worth

never casting their shadow against another’s

 

our teachers do not weigh one soul against another

they measure growth by the shape of the seed

and the strength of the bloom

 

here, we do not only crown the fastest in math or science

we honor the spark of curiosity

the fire of creativity

the steadfast wind of determination

the rare colors each spirit carries

 

and how bright it is—

to sit, not at wooden desks,

but across glowing screens of Google Meet

with voices from every corner of the earth

threads of respect weaving us together

friendships that do not fade with the season

laughter spilling like light from one home to another

and learning

always learning

side by side