The Best Chowkidar in the Universe

Way back in 2007, on one of my earliest tours in Afghanistan, I was responsible for writing these weekly situation reports, and I recall there was an open source report being published in the UK that I would regularly rely on as a source, because the author was able to get more detailed information on certain aspects of security than I could find in ISAF, despite not even being in country.  I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks later when the author of those reports had submitted an application to work for our organization in Afghanistan, and I shamelessly poached him from his previous employer.

James was one of the smartest, hardest working and hopelessly optimistic people I’ve ever worked with, he would end up outlasting me in Afghanistan, staying there a full six years, working for our organization and then switching over to the UN.  You have to be optimistic to work on the projects he worked on in Afghanistan – most people would typically burn out after a year or two.

James is now leaving Afghanistan with a heavy heart.  But on his way out, he is doing something wonderful for a man who was critical in making it all somewhat bearable.  I’m talking about his chowkidar.  What’s a chowkidar?  Technically, it means “house watcher” – but a good chowkidar can do so much more, and apparently this one did.

I could go on, but I hope you won’t mind taking a moment to read for yourself what James wrote and how he can use your help.  Check out the website to read about the best chowkidar in the universe  And then check out thefacebook page.  And share it with the people you know – it’s a good story.

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