WORD ON THE GROUND: DR. INAYAT IN KABUL Dr. Inayat and Keith Reynolds building Playgrounds in Afghanistan Dr. Inayat is a coordinator for many playgrounds constructed by Playground Builders. Dr. Inayat was plugged into PGB's 100 Playground Celebration in Whistler via live satellite feed from Kabul, and provided an informative look at some of the effects playgrounds have had -- particularly on female education -- in Afghanistan. Here are some of his observations: Can you explain some of the current challenges in Afghanistan? Over the past two decades, external and internal conflicts have caused huge destruction in every field and sector of life. This includes health, education, infrastructure, and expertise. After the fall of the Taliban, the world community helped significantly in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. But many sectors lag behind and require more outside help, especially children's education and women's empowerment. What is the most critical education need for Afghanistan women? Improving education opportunities for girls in rural areas, where enrollment is low. At the same time, interest in educating women is falling in cities as well. One of reason is the educational environment. Most schools provide only classroom education for women, so during breaks or sports time they have nothing to do other than study, resulting in boredom and low interest. What is being done about this? A few years ago there were programs in rural areas that used foods like cooking oil to convince families to enroll their girls in school. It increased enrollment for a while,