Afghanistan

Nate York first traveled to Afghanistan in 2002, a few months after the American invasion. Working with a faith-based non-government organization (NGO), he was struck by several things: The unbridled excitement of a people eager to rebuild their country after 25 years of war, the desperate state of the cities and schools, and the patronizing attitude and wasteful spending of much of the aid community. Nate was especially moved by the state of schools for girls. On a cold day in winter in the northern province of Jawzjan, he came upon one group of students huddled on the floor of a crumbling school. Because the classrooms had no heat, the teacher's lips were blue from the near freezing temperature. She explained that the after the Taliban, the girls were so intent on learning to read they would come to class in almost any weather. Other NGOs had visited the school, but they had only taken notes and pictures. Nate, and his driver Ayub Azizi drove straight to the market and purchased heaters and oil for the classroom.

This incident cemented Nate's determination to construct a girls school in the area, and to do it his own way. He returned to Anchorage, Alaska in the fall of '02, and raised funds with a group of people who become the staff and board of Solace. With Ayub translating and negotiating, Nate and his team built eight co-ed or girl's schools by 2005 - including the first internet-capable classroom at a public school in the country. Solace also developed a cottage industry program in partnership with Overstock.com - opening online markets to more than 500 women artisans.

Because of security concerns and a shift in regulations for foreign NGOs, Solace has moved its focus elsewhere. Currently, as they are so far to the North, the schools are still running and are safe.