Afghanistan supplies 90% of the world’s heroin inventory through opium poppy production and is also the world’s leading producer of hashish.

There is more land cultivated for opium than the coco harvest in Latin America. As a result, 10% of the overall population in Afghanistan has an addiction to illicit drugs. They are cheap and there is not enough government resources to stop this tsunami of drugs.

Morning Star’s Tangi Saidan Community Center (TSCC) in Kabul, Afghanistan offers classes in Literacy, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Computer, Internet, etc. Out of the 16,000 people living in this community, only a small percentage of school-aged children are educated. At TSCC, 200 students per month attend the educational programs offered. Through these classes, student’s lives are being radically transformed. Darya, a former student of TSCC, is just one example.

“I am not alive, but I am not dead,” whispered Khadija. Khadija, a 23-year old Afghan woman, set herself on fire after losing all hope, due to an abusive arranged marriage. She was “sold” as a young 15 year old girl for $3,400, to support her impoverished family.

Did you know that Morning Star operates a radio station in a rural part of eastern Afghanistan?

Radio has been the most popular form of media in Afghanistan since the 1920s. Eighteen years ago, under the Taliban controlled government music, television and movies were outlawed. As a result, many resorted to radios which were harder to restrict.