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from https://nypost.com/2021/08/19/oklahoma-mom-rescues-members-of-afghan-all-girls-robotics-team/?fbclid=IwAR2KcG6mPYYDADJmavVA3riiIhZLEMDfAW1ied8CSajaMrLLjSkbc3JRgaI

(go to the citation to see the pictures.)
(Some cynics say the world is big and rotten and nobody can
make a difference. False!! This person did!)

Oklahoma mom of 11 rescues members of Afghan all-girls robotics team
By Patrick Reilly
August 19, 2021 9:55pm Updated

Allyson Reneau with the Afghan all-girl robotics team
Allyson Reneau (center) flew into Qatar on her way to the US Embassy in
her bid to ensure Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team was evacuated.

Kamala resurfaces: VP heads to Asia after staying quiet amid Afghanistan
chaos

An Oklahoma mother of 11 flew to the Mideast earlier this month to help
rescue 10 members of the country’s all-girls robotics team, and is
hoping to save more as the Taliban takes power in Kabul.

Allyson Reneau, a 60-year old Harvard graduate with a Masters degree in international relations and US space policy, took it upon herself to try
and save members of the Afghan Girls Robotic Team, according to NBC.

She flew into Qatar on Aug. 9 after making a “Hail Mary” call to a
former roommate at the US Embassy there to help get the girls from the advancing Taliban, known for their oppressive treatment of women.

Reneau had been in contact with the team — made of girls ages 16 to 18 — since 2019 when she worked on the board of directors for Explore Mars
and met the girls when they attended the organization’s annual Humans to
Mars conference.

The team was hailed in Western media as the future of the war-ravaged
country, as well as a shining example of how women’s rights had improved after the US invaded following 9/11.

She said she “couldn’t shake” the feeling that the girls were in danger while watching the news of the advancing insurgent army in early August.
The first step she took was to call Sen. Jim Inhofe [R-Okla.], a ranking
member of the Armed Services Committee, but that “lead went cold” when
the senator became “overwhelmed with the need to help our American citizens,” Reneau told NBC.

Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team in Washington, DC on July 16, 2017.

Then, she decided to try herself, hopping on a flight towards the Middle
East, but still thousands of miles away from Afghanistan. Her friend in
Qatar was thankfully able to help her once she arrived.

“I remembered my former roommate in D.C. a couple of years ago was transferred to Qatar,” Reneau told NBC. “She said she worked in the U.S. Embassy in Qatar. … She was sure her boss would approve helping the girls.”

“She wrote up a request, and I got all of their passports together,”
Reneau said. “She went back to the Embassy at midnight and worked all
night to prepare the documents [and] packets for the girls.”

Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team show their projects at an
exhibition in Herat, Afghanistan on July 4, 2021.

Reneau said it was chaotic trying to get the girls out, who “were in a
sea of chaos with 8 million people and a city halfway around the world,” forcing her to work at the embassy all night.

“It’s very narrow window of opportunity,” she told NBC. “I knew that if I didn’t run through that door now — it’s now or never. Sometimes you only get one chance.”

After one flight was canceled, 10 girls boarded the next flight from the American side of the Kabul airport, which has been a scene of violence
and turmoil as residents attempt to flee the Taliban regime.

The girls were taken to a secure location in the U.S. and will pursue
higher education, Reneau said.

Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team competes in the First Global
Robotics Challenge in Washington, DC on July 17, 2017.

According to NBC, Reneau is still working to get 25 more girls from the
team to safety.

“All the emotion, two weeks of work for them, it hit me all at once,”
she said.

Human rights groups had demanded earlier this week that Canada take in
the girls robotics team, as the Taliban goes “door to door and literally taking girls out and forcing them to become child brides.” The team
competed there in 2018.

“[The girls] are worried about what tomorrow brings. They want to
continue to be educated. They want to continue to be the future of
Afghanistan, but it’s an extremely tenuous and dangerous situation for them,” human rights lawyer Kimberley Motley told the Canadian
Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.

Lida Azizi, right, and other members of the Afghanistan team make a
repair to their robot after their first round competing in the FIRST
Global Robotics Challenge, Monday, July 17, 2017, in Washington.

Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team was garnered as a shining example
of the country’s progress for women’s rights.
AP

FILED UNDER AFGHANISTAN OKLAHOMA QATAR ROBOTS TALIBAN WOMEN'S
RIGHTS 8/19/21

------------------------

Read more at:

A celebrated all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan made it out of the
country safely and are now in Qatar. Officials there sent a plane to
evacuate the young girls, after the team's parent organization, Digital
Citizen Fund, worked with Qatar's government to secure visas.33 mins ago Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team evacuated to Qatar - CBS ... https://www.cbsnews.com › news › afghanistan-girls-robo...
About featured snippets

CBS News
Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team evacuated safely to Qatar
32 mins ago


The Washington Post
Afghan robotics team arrives safely in Doha: 'The girls rescued themselves'
1 hour ago

10 members of Afghan girls robotics team safely evacuated to ... https://www.fox5atlanta.com › news › 10-members-of-...
2 hours ago — Ten members of an all-girl robotics team has safely
arrived in Qatar after fleeing Afghanistan in the aftermath of the
Taliban takeover.

The latest on Afghanistan as the Taliban take charge - CNN
https://www.cnn.com › world › live-news › afghanistan...
1 hour ago — An Oklahoma woman helped evacuate 10 girls from
Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team. In 2019, Allyson Reneau, a
director on the board of ...

All-girl robotics team from Afghanistan arrive safely in Qatar ... https://www.independent.co.uk › Independent TV › News
5 hours ago — An all-girl Afghanistan robotics team have made it out of
the country safely and into Qatar after being evacuated following the
recent ...

Oklahoma Mom Of 11 Helps Evacuate Members Of ... - News 9
https://www.news9.com › story › oklahoma-mom-of-1...
2 minutes ago — ... of 11 worked for nearly two weeks with U.S.
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Amazing story of heroic US mom rescuing Afghan all-girls ... https://thehill.com › changing-america › respect › 5687...
6 hours ago — At least ten girls were evacuated to a secure location in Qatar. ... The Afghan Girls Robotic Team, a group of girls between the
ages 16 and ...
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