By Bryan Vomacka
The University of Nebraska at Omaha has been working to set up Communication Studies programs at Kabul University and Balkh University in Afghanistan. Part of UNO’s mission statement is to improve quality of life at a local, national, and global level.
Through the Afghan Project, UNO faculty are working to improve the lives and education of the people in Afghanistan. By introducing a Communication Studies major, UNO is offering new education opportunities and helping develop new skills.
The experience did not come without challenges. Almost all communication was done through a translator. Chris Allen praised their translator as the best he has ever worked with.
There are also many cultural differences between the United States and Afghanistan. Topics like abortion, alcohol and drug use, and LGBTQ issues are not discussed in Afghanistan society.
“They will physically take those chapters and cut them out of the textbook because they just cannot address those things,” Allen said.
UNO faculty also gained a lot from the experience.
“Whatever I have taught them I have got back tenfold by learning about their culture, by learning about themselves, their lives, their feelings, their pains, their joys and all of those things. I have learned so, so much and I think I have become a much richer person because of that,” Allen said.
