Bonita Chamberlin is a longtime friend of USD who frequently lectures on the people and culture of Afghanistan, where she has worked for more than 20 years.

In a remote Asian kingdom of old, where people still live much as they did 1,500 years ago, Bonita Chamberlin discovered a mother lode of precious gems.

Twenty years ago, Chamberlin began excavating a multimillion-dollar bounty of sapphires, rubies, emeralds and other gems in Afghanistan. When the Soviet Union invaded the country in 1979, bombing unearthed gigantic veins of gems, and Chamberlin saw a chance to help the mujahideen freedom fighters mine the gems and restore economic sovereignty to their people.

"They worked in the mines amid battles for their independence," Chamberlin says. "My longevity in the country earned me the trust of the people, which is why I've been able to work with them through five regime changes."

Chamberlin, who had a background in archeology, boned up on the basics of identifying and locating precious stones. She recommends the Carlsbad, Calif., Gemological Institute of America as the ideal place for would-be gemologists to start, and says a geology or engineering background wouldn't hurt.

She points out, however, that treasure hunting in faraway lands is not for the faint of heart. On yearly expeditions to the country, Chamberlin typically snuck over the Pakistan border through treacherous mountain passes, living among shepherds, dodging land mines and avoiding frequent armed skirmishes. With no sophisticated equipment, she dug alongside the Afghan villagers using picks, shovels and small explosives.

Like a female Indiana Jones, she doesn't seek treasure for her own gain. Chamberlin brings the jewels to America and sells them, to help lift the Afghan people from poverty and starvation to self-sufficiency. She now is helping villagers build a jewelry-making industry. In the end, she says, the treasure is secondary. The real jewels Chamberlin found were the people.

"They are true survivors," she says. "Their country has nearly been destroyed, but they're still a bold, loyal and freedom-loving people."