Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to the South Cariboo Afghanistan project. A decade ago, Mr. Jack Witty of 100 Mile House was moved by stories of the rebuilding effort in Afghanistan to ask the question: “What would happen if a rural community like the South Cariboo helped a rural community in Afghanistan to rebuild?”
In partnership with Mr. Esmat Nazaryar, an Afghan Canadian from the village of Jeloucha in northern Afghanistan, the South Cariboo Afghanistan project set out to help rebuild Mr. Nazaryar's community.
Since 2004, with support from Hope International, the Aga Khan Foundation and CIDA, this project has helped to construct a medical clinic, clean water system, roads, a seed and animal bank and a school.
Mr. Nazaryar and his family visited 100 Mile House last month to convey the thanks of the community of Jeloucha to all those in the South Cariboo who supported the rebuilding process. For many in northern Afghanistan, Canada is a place called 100 Mile House.