Kunar PRT helps young women learn food preservation skills

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Members of the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team’s Female Engagement Team attended the conclusion of a four-day food-preservation workshop at the director of the Department of Women’s Affairs compound in Asadabad District, Afghanistan, May 25.

Young women learned how to pickle various fruits and vegetables in the FET-sponsored event which U.S. Army Spc. Shannon Drinken, of Rice Lake, Wis., a Civil Affairs specialist and FET team member, said was a success.

“It went very well,” Drinken said of the course. “To be able to sit in on the instruction, to see them doing hands-on instruction, it was good. We were able to hear the girls answer questions. We could see that they understood what the instructors were telling them.”

Most of the young women who attended the course ranged from 14-17 years old.

Drinken said the goal of courses like these, and the FET in general, is to ensure  young women of the province are learning skills that will enable them to improve their quality of life.

“We want to ensure that they are learning something that will help them better provide for their family,” said Drinken. “If they learn how to pickle vegetables, that helps the family. Or they can take it to the market and sell it. They’re getting something out of the course, something that will help them in the future.”

U.S. Army Sgt. Kacie Kremer, a veterinary technician with the 358th Medical Detachment assigned to the Iowa Army National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team, from Oceanside, Calif., said it is rewarding to work with women from other cultures and backgrounds.

“It’s just amazing seeing them and talking to them,” Kremer said. “Just seeing the diversity in the culture and experiencing the language barrier, yet they are so willing to work with us. I think they’re as excited as we are. They want to learn.”

Drinken said she appreciated her experience of working with the women of Kunar Province through the FET.

“Just seeing in their face that something clicks, that they are learning, makes it worthwhile,” said Drinken. “Even though there is the language barrier, facial expressions are universal. Knowing that they have learned something that will benefit them in regards to themselves and their family. That makes it rewarding.”