Beginning

Hi. I wasn't going to keep a blog on this trip, but it seems a good way to share pictures and quick stories with a small group of family and friends. I may not post frequently, but will try to through up an interesting picture now and then both to share and remember.

This summer I am working with Roshan, the leading mobile phone provider in Afghanistan and one of the largest projects of its majority owner, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. From the start I should say that this blog is personal and does not reflect the views of either Roshan or AKFED. I won't talk much about either organization, except to say that I've been quite impressed with Roshan/AKFED's model of promoting economic development. In many ways Roshan shaped the market here, which has become intensely competitive, by proving that operations were possible and by helping to shape regulation through negotiations with the Afghan government. In short, the company was founded (along with other shareholders with expertise in telecoms) to generate economic activity (and provide communications services) in a "post-conflict" (let's call it that) state that desperately needed it, and with the goal of one day becoming 100% Afghan-operated. For now, though, there are a few expats about, including interns like me. You can learn more from the web links above.

Needless to say, I've also been learning a lot about the Aga Khan and the Ismaili tradition. I'll give more space to this later, but for now I was recently shown an article on the Aga Khan by that pillar of excellence in modern journalism, The Harvard Crimson. (In case you had doubts about the Crimson's professionalism, note that I've also made the Crimson...). Those of you who were undergrads will appreciate the references to the Aga Khan's freshman dorm in Wigglesworth.

And yes, the blog's name is my weak attempt at the lowest form of humor.