EP 09: From Kabul to the World: Marina LeGree’s Trailblazing Approach to Girls’ Leadership
“It hit me upside the head: how can a whole society be lacking in sports?”
When Marina LeGree arrived in Afghanistan, she was struck by the lack of sport and outdoor physical activity available to Afghan citizens, particularly young women. A dedicated athlete in her youth, Marina understood the power of sport to transform a person emotionally as well as physically, and to bring out the best in oneself. She knew she wanted to create opportunities for girls in Afghanistan to get out and enjoy their environment, and in 2015 she founded Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics, which began by taking a group of 20 girls on a mountaineering adventure, inspired by Malang Daria and Amruddin Sanjar, the first Afghan citizens to summit the country’s highest mountain. Today, the program, which has since extended its mission to Pakistan, rests on five pillars: mental health, physical fitness and nutrition, leadership and community service. The fifth element, rock climbing and mountaineering, has ceased to be a part of the program in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
For those young women whose safety and future are threatened by this change in power, the program has proven a lifeline in more ways than one. Ascend Athletics has worked to relocate 134 alumni from the program to other countries. And the program instilled in them hope for the future, expectations for their lives and the courage to pursue it, at the risk of their very lives. Marina tells the story of Mina, who crossed through the city of Kabul in the dark alone, in danger at every turn, to board a bus for a 10 hour journey bound for what would be her new home away from her family.
However grim the circumstances for the young women in Afghanistan, the Ascend Athletics program is not meant to change or circumvent policy. Rather, it works to give girls the tools to succeed in their own context and to make change in their own societies. Join today’s conversation for more tales of bravery, resiliency and above all, hope.
Quotes
Links
Connect with Marina LeGree:
https://www.ascendathletics.org
https://www.ascendathletics.org/ourpeople
Ascend: Forced to flee the Taliban, Afghan women find a home in climbing | Patagonia Films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbtc3je_GUE&t=144s
Connect with Robbin Jorgensen (She/Her):
Website: https://womenignitingchange.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-igniting-change/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbinjorgensen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robbin.jorgensen/
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