Meet Shabana Basij-Rasikh, the founder of SOLA, Afghanistan’s first and only boarding school for girls who evacuated and relocated the entire school community from Kabul to Rwanda during the Taliban takeover in 2021. Today, SOLA is the only place in the world where Afghan girls have access to a full education.

In this conversation, Shabana shares her memories of growing up under the first Taliban regime and the courage of her students and staff during the school’s emergency evacuation in 2021. She gives us a glimpse into daily life on the SOLA campus in Rwanda, her plans to empower and educate as many Afghan girls as she can and why we can’t turn away from the girls who remain in Afghanistan. 

FIND OUT MORE: 

⁠www.sola-afghanistan.org⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/sola.afghanistan⁠

⁠https://twitter.com/solaafghanistan⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/sola.afghanistan/⁠

We are proud to have SOLA as a Future Crunch charity partner and we’d like to thank our paying newsletter subscribers for their ongoing support. We donate a third of our subscription fees to support under the radar charities that are helping people and the planet. If you’re interested in becoming a subscriber, you can find out more at ⁠www.futurecrunch.com⁠

This episode of “Hope Is A Verb” was hosted by Angus Hervey, Co-Founder of Future Crunch and Amy Davoren-Rose, Creative Director of Future Crunch. 

The soundtrack for this podcast is “Rain,” composed and performed by ⁠El Rey Miel⁠ from their upcoming album "Sea the Sky". Audio sweetening by Anthony Badolato- Ai3 Audio and Voice. 

Special thanks to Tane Hunter, Sarah Green, Tim Green, Lisa Taylor, Teresa Bendzinski and our wonderful subscribers to the Future Crunch newsletter for helping us to make this happen. 

We would like to acknowledge that HOPE IS A VERB is recorded on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrung People. These conversations are inspired by our charity partners and our Humankind Project that celebrates the people who are stitching our world back together. 

If you want to contact us, send an email at hope@futurecrunch.com.au

Transcriptions will be available on our website soon.