MIDDLEBURY — To honor returning volunteer teachers Loren Mejia and David Hamberlin, Friends of SOLA (School of Leadership, Afghanistan) are sponsoring an Awareness Gathering on Tuesday, May 28, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Middlebury’s Ilsley Library. 
Aside from recognizing two talented Middlebury alums, the sponsors, using personal experiences, brief video clips and fact sheets, will share the incredible story of SOLA’s success in educating young Afghan women in Kabul — young women who are committed to returning to Afghanistan to rebuild their war-weary country as teachers, entrepreneurs, doctors and nurses.
Since its founding in 2008 by Ted Achilles, an American with extensive experience in educating international young people, SOLA has supported outstanding Afghan women on full scholarship in their pursuit of educational opportunities to obtain the leadership skills required to fulfill their commitment to rebuild Afghanistan. SOLA was created to identify and prepare Afghanistan’s brightest girls for world-class educations and bring their brains, skills and perspectives back home.
This year SOLA is providing exceptional educational opportunities for 25 students from provinces throughout Afghanistan at its small boarding school in Kabul. SOLA has also facilitated enrollment for 29 students at such competitive schools as the Asian University for Women, Bard, Bates, Bennington, King’s Academy Jordan, Middlebury, Mt. Holyoke, Russell Sage, Smith, Tufts, Williams and Yale. 
SOLA meaning “peace” in Pashto, is a people-to-people nonprofit organization working toward a positive, peaceful future for Afghanistan through education, especially for women.