The Beginnings
In the summers of 2002, 2003, and 2004 Hoffman journeyed to Afghanistan, where his accomplishments include:
- Obtaining the rights to a well providing clean water to 1,000 – 2,000 villagers;
- Building a three-room school house for the 83 young woman of Yakhshi, plus the construction of boys’ and girls’ latrines;
- Construction of a one-room library for the community of Mir-Bacha-Kot in honor of Mark Ice, a former Peace Corps volunteer (1971) who devoted his life to service for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees;
- Distributing notebooks, pens, soccer balls, toothbrushes to children whose lives have been dismantled by war.
Serving as an unofficial ambassador for the State of Vermont and the United States, Jonathan has brought awareness of the plight of refugees in Kosova and Afghanistan while introducing our culture and sense of humanity to otherwise secluded regions of the world. Thousands have been reached in the United States through presentations, with hundreds of thousands reached through media coverage.