Ian Pounds recently returned from five months living with orphans in Afghanistan. Ian’s weekly journal account of his journey will remain at "Ian in Afghanistan".  For those in the military and civilian communities who are interested in learning more about orphans in Afghanistan, Ian is available for speaking engagements. Ian Pounds can be reached by email at ian.pounds@gmail.com or cell at 802-989-5978. Please contact him if you are interested in hosting his presentation in your community.

Ian’s memoir “Saving Us from Ourselves” was published in MILSPEAK: WARRIORS, VETERANS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS WRITING THE MILITARY EXPERIENCE (Press 53, July 09). Ian’s reasons for going to Kabul are complicated, but a good part had to do with having been married to an officer in the Marine Corps. The infectiousness of the typical Marine's urge to serve, combined with the words heard from then candidate Obama concerning the need for people to "chip in" and volunteer, combined with Ian’s experience as a volunteer firefighter pushed him towards Afghanistan. If one of those Afghan boys doesn't grow up to be a suicide bomber or to setting IEDs in dirt roads because of Ian’s time there, that is a powerful argument to go to such a dangerous place. Combine these influences with Ian’s life working with kids, and his long-term belief that the education and empowerment of women directly dismantles many of the world's problems, he found he simply had to go to Afghanistan. Five months later, the children Ian met are now family to him. He must continue his work. Though no expert on Afghanistan, the uniqueness of his experience living in a house full of orphans where he otherwise could not stray outside the gates for fear of kidnapping and bombs, having contact with only Afghans the entire time there, studying the language and history and having daily talks with a man who has lived in Kabul through the Soviet era, civil war, Taliban and the present war prompts Ian to share what he has learned with as many people as possible. Ian would be honored to have the chance to share his stories, video footage, and answer questions from members of the civilian and military community who might want to get more involved in a truly remarkable program (www.afceco.org) nurturing the development of future Afghan leaders and professionals.

Ian Pounds began his education sailing around the world with Semester at Sea, a shipboard campus devoted to global studies. He acquired his B.A. in creative writing from The Evergreen State College, and later studied Elizabethan literature at Oxford University. He was a scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, where he served over twelve years on the admissions

committee and coordinated the Bakeless Literary Prizes. He has recently completed a memoir, THE HIPPIE AND THE MARINE: AN AMERICAN JOURNAL. He hails from Ripton, Vermont.