Ringgold Rotary Club president Martha Eaker, Noshaq nonprofit founder Luther Whiting and Rotarian Bill Holden, from left, discuss Noshaq, a nonprofit helping a village in Afghanistan build a sustainable economy.
Photo by Katie WardSouthern Adventist University senior student Luther Whiting is asking the community to support his Noshaq nonprofit that seeks to build a sustainable economy for a village in Afghanistan. He told Ringgold Rotary members that he plans to return to Afghanistan for the sixth time May 2.
“[Noshaq volunteers] are working to build them an access road at an estimated cost of $24,691,” Whiting said in regards to the town his nonprofit helps, Khermanuk Village in the Province of Badakhshan. “The road could open the village up to increased trade and transport. The road will be 2.5 miles. We’ve raised $10,691 and need $14,000 more. We will begin the road project in May.”
He said a landslide destroyed the village in 2000. Now the village needs access, agriculture and income. He said the village has to send men to Iran to find work; some go to fight against the Taliban.
Noshaq volunteers are also trying to raise $5,780 to establish agriculture in Khermanuk. A third project will build a $20,000 suspension bridge, so villagers can access land available for cultivation. Whiting said he would also like to help the village establish a honey industry, which is very easy and costs very little.
Despite Afghanistan’s 22 wars in a 200-year period, Whiting said he believes fighting could be prevented by education.
“What if we viewed Afghanistan as the world’s greatest opportunity for change and the biggest potential for hope?” he asked. “Noshaq is a Chattanooga nonprofit. We need support from local citizens to continue to help Khermanuk Village.”
Whiting first became acquainted with the country several years ago when he went to visit his parents, who had accepted jobs there. He said he thought Afghanistan would be a desert, but then he saw the beautiful mountains from the airplane windows. He named his nonprofit after the country’s 25,480-foot Noshaq Mountain.
“Some of the world’s most misunderstood places are also the most beautiful,” said Whiting. “It was really unlike any place I’ve traveled to my whole life, the village Noshaq helps.”
To learn more about Noshaq, visit the organization’s website or call 615-9227.