ASIA/AFGHANISTAN - Jesuits have been in Afghanistan since 1581

Kabul (Agenzia Fides) - Afghanistan is not new to the Jesuit Fathers. In 1581 Emperor Akbar brought a Jesuit with him from Agra near Delhi, in India to tutor his son. A year later, Brother Bento de Goes, searching for the mythical Cathay, stopped for a short while in Kabul. In the 18th century a few Jesuit Fathers went to Afghanistan on brief missions.
According to the Jesuit Information Service after a long time, in December 2002 two Jesuits were sent to Afghanistan to assess whether the Jesuits of Southern Asia Assistance could help with the rebuilding of that country devastated by war. That first visit followed by consultation with the Apostolic Prefect and a few Catholic aid agencies, led to the opening of a Jesuit Centre at Herat. The necessity to be recognised as an NGO led the group to register as under the aegis of JRS International.
The community, at first only two Jesuits, today consists of 6 members. The positive experience of Herat, where, through the University, Jesuits provide courses in English language, computer skills and biology, and where the Fathers run a training school, encouraged the Jesuits to open another Centre at Bamyan, north west of Kabul. At Bamyan, besides courses in English language and computer skills, the Centre will focus on developing agriculture in the area. The arrival of a community of Sisters as past of the initiative will guarantee medical care (of which there is dire need) as part of the mission in Afghanistan. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 28/6/2007; righe 18, parole 262)