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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN
FROM UN MESSENGER OF PEACE MUHAMMAD ALI

Dear Young People,

I want to share with you some of feelings about how bright your future is. My life and my success were built upon the preparation that I practiced when I was a young person growing up in a poor place in America. And just like myself, I know that you will succeed if you can always keep these three things in mind:

1. Have faith and be a good Muslim. Your faith will help you through the most difficult days.

2. Prepare your mind for the challenges of life. Your education will be an important part of your life. You must study hard, respect your teachers, and follow their guidance.

3. Prepare your body, by practicing physical activity and sports, because sports builds fellowship, character, and independence. I know that for many of you, it may be difficult to participate in athletic activity because you may not have all the opportunities now, but we must all work together to create more opportunities.

I say these things as I prepare to leave your beautiful country, where it has been both an honor and pleasure to spend the past three days in my role as the United Nations Messenger of Peace. This is a trip to which I had been looking forward for so long, and I am pleased to say that it has exceeded my expectations.

There has been much that has been achieved so far in Afghanistan by the humanitarian community working together with the Afghan government and people. I saw that myself first-hand yesterday, when I sat among young girl students in a UNICEF-supported school. To see the girls studying, knowing that they had been denied opportunities to learn for many years, was inspiring.

I saw too how the most vulnerable people here in Kabul are being provided with support from the World Food Programme, through its women's bakery programme that provides both income to widows and of course vital food supplies to those most in need.

Above all, I believe I have seen - in the young people like yourselves that I met - not just the Afghanistan of today, but the Afghanistan of tomorrow. That tomorrow will be your tomorrow, and the world must not fail you. This is where the adults of the world can make a difference to your lives, by continuing their good work for the rebuilding of your country.

I want to thank you, my young friends, for showing me how strong you are in spite of the hardships your country still faces. You must keep that strength. You must continue to hope for a brighter tomorrow. You are the life and soul of Afghanistan.

With love,

Muhammad Ali

Read about Ali's arrival in Afghanistan