Afghanistan blogs

by Save the Children's Rewrite the Future Education Coordinator Micah Risher

. All about Micah December 2007
. Bettering Education in Bamyan December 2007
 

All about Micah

I am relatively new to Save the Children, having started my first assignment as the Rewrite the Future (a.k.a. Better Education, Better Future) coordinator for Afghanistan in mid-August, 2007. Before accepting this highly rewarding position I spent two years based in Dhaka, Bangladesh as an English Language Fellow funded by the U.S. Department of State. I divided my time between conducting teacher training programs for marginalized Madrassa teachers within the Ministry of Education, and helping local NGOs place teachers and students in academic overseas exchange programs.

My interest in international education and humanitarian work was sparked in the late 1990s while on a university overseas program in India. Since then I have spent two years in southern Poland earning an M.Ed. and doing practicum teaching, one year in South Korea as an English teacher, and one year in the U.S.A. mentoring children within a migrant farming community as an AmeriCorps volunteer working for the I Have a Dream Foundation.

My main professional interests include the discourse of critical thinking, context-based pedagogy, and cultural anthropology. My personal interests find me traipsing the globe in search of isolated hiking trails and stunning views. I also enjoy dabbling at artistic pursuits, snowboarding down a thick bed of powder, being a has-been marathon runner, and making an annual pilgrimage to see my family in New Mexico.