The construction of a school provides hope for the future in the middle of the war
Education is something that tends to engage members and donors of SCA. In the future, Afghanistan-Nytt will follow the construction of several new schools in Afghanistan. Such as in the village of Zadran-e-Payeen, where the war poses a risk for the children studying outdoors.
Few dare building new health clinics and schools. At the same time, many clinics and schools have been destroyed during the war. As a result, most children attend school outdoors in tents, under canvasses or tree fiber roofs. Only a few girls are allowed to study in such conditions.
Literacy among girls in Baghlan has declined dramatically. Hence, SCA decided to build a school. On June 25, the building of a school in the village of Zadran-e-Payeen, in the central parts of the province, was initiated.
“It is extremely important to build a school in our village, not only to ensure the future of our children but also for the very existence of our village. We appreciate the fact that the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan has defied the high level of insecurity and started to build a school,” says Mashow Khan, village elder in Zadran-e-Payeen.
The school is supposed to be capable of receiving 239 students, both boys and girls. One of them is Gulalai.
“We’re smiling, but in our hearts we are sad, as it’s difficult to study outdoors with the ongoing war. We are always afraid while studying. We constantly raise our heads from the books we’re reading to look around us during classes. If our school had a real classrooms with ceilings, walls and a wall around the school, then we would be less afraid,” says Gulalai.
The school is expected to be completed by December 15. It will then have six classrooms, two rooms for administration, a supply room, ten toilets, a room for a security guard, a well and a wall surrounding the compound. The cost is estimated at a little more than one million Swedish kronor.
“We are 415 families living here and we lack the most basic services, such as security, electricity, clean drinking water, a clinic, good roads and a market. In addition to the war, we’ve also been hard hit by a drought for years,” he says.
Ten new schools
The school project in Zadran-e-Payeen is financed by SCA and is a part of the campaign #10nyaskolor [#10newschools] now taking place in Sweden.
The initiative #10nyaskolor is about drawing attention to the need for schools in Afghanistan, but also to enable donors to follow the construction of the new schools. It is possible to follow the initiative on social media and online.
Read more on sak.se/10nyaskolor
SCA’s model for development – Village schools put girls in school
Only 15 percent of women and 49 percent of men in Afghanistan can read and write, according to the Afghan Central Statistics Organization. More than 3.5 million school-age children do not attend school, of which 75 percent are girls in rural areas.
Being able to read and write is a key factor in development. That is why SCA not only focuses on providing education for children, but above all focuses on girls being able to go to school. Girls are increasingly discriminated against the older they get.
The lack of schools in rural areas is significant. As a result, SCA works together with village councils to strengthen local democracy in rural areas. Through these councils, the villagers themselves decide upon on and carry out the projects they think need to be implemented, such as schools.