Kabul Korrespondence

It’s my great pleasure to announce that our Now Roz fundraiser last Friday night was a huge success. We raised thousands of dollars for both the A.A.D.O. and Aina NGO’s with a full house of over 270 guests. It was a great opportunity for these people to learn more about the unique country of Afghanistan.


Being back in Australia has been a great. I have enjoyed all the comforts of the West over the past month. However, the most satisfying experience has been that while I was organising the event, I was showered with unconditional support from my network of colleagues, friends and family. In return, they were rewarded with a very memorable night of Afghan culture at its finest.


The night had something for everyone. Images of the students’ progression through their photojournalism course were presented beautifully with help of Epson/Kayell printing and Profile frames.


The visual slide shows presented on 3 big screens were a dynamic backdrop for the night’s speeches.


The fashion parade was a great opportunity for Melbournians to see both Royah’s modern Afghan designs and Ahiida’s famous Burkini for the first time.




The Afghan music and dancing by 'Afghan Performers for Hope' was a fantastic example of Afghans keeping their tradition alive through modern interpretation of classic Afghan art forms.


Lastly, but by no means least, there was a unanimous call of praise for the fine food served by the Afghan Gallery restaurant.


It was a brilliant night of people coming together with the common reason of support for a cause that needs as much help as possible. The exhibition will now move to Chapel St Prahan and then Kabul where it will be shown to both the Afghan and international communities. These kids (the students) have it good! Three shows in one year and they didn’t even have to lift a finger! Only joking! It’s been a pleasure for me to make this happen and I hope we can do it again. The ultimate aim is to continue to produce more professional photojournalists to represent their country and their people.


Thank you once again to all involved. Now it is down time from the event. I have a lot of post event public relations work to follow up with and also some guest speaking to do at some high schools here. If all goes to plan I will be back in Kabul by their summer and will be starting another program of photojournalism that, hopefully, will be bigger and better than ever.

So stay tuned and if you want to get involved in any way please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you. Travis Beard: argusphoto@gmail.com