Howdy! My name is Bill Boegeman, and I'm a high school social studies teacher in Forest Lake, Minnesota. My classes are filled with students from many backgrounds, bringing their own unique perspectives and experiences to class. And some of those students are from Central America - refugees now living in the U.S., many of whom made the journey to the States alone.

Chickens, feed and water containers, cages. What more could chickens possibly need to maintain their health?? Being a city girl, I wasn’t too familiar with the ins and outs of raising healthy chickens.

One of the first things I noticed about Ispalal, aside from the radiating warmth of the community living there, was the ample open space surrounding the small houses. It was incredibly beautiful – lots of fields upon fields, owned by local landowners, spaces for children to run and play, and for animals like goats to roam! It was so different from the places I had lived, which were mostly in cities.

I’m taking you back to Ispalal today, a community right outside of Islamabad. It holds a special place in our team’s hearts - my teammate Fatima decision to take us to visit immediately after we arrived!