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Afghan School ProjectThe current news is not good. We are very concerned about recent attacks against schools in Afghanistan. In July 2007 the New York times published an alarming article and editorial about these current developments.
The Afghan School Project was started by St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Hope, NJ, with the aim of raising money to help build a school in Afghanistan. Growing out of the events of September 11 and the subsequent bombing of Afghanistan, the project seeks to focus on love, rather than hate, and on the children who are the future. We are working with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an organization that is currently building schools in Afghanistan. AFSC has a long history of commitment to education, as well as of helping refugees and victims of war.
 In addition to doing our own fundraising at St. Luke's, we are seeking to develop a loose network of groups and individuals to support the project, including other churches and faith communities, schools, clubs and businesses. Schools will have a unique opportunity to teach their children about Afghanistan and to develop a long term relationship with a school there. Students can do fundraising projects for specific needs, such as classroom furniture, as well as exchanging letters and photos with children in the school they are supporting. St. Luke's role will continue to be to channel information about AFSC's school projects in Afghanistan and to serve as a clearing house for donations to the Afghan School Project. As of March, 2003, children in Kokoor will be going to school in a new eight classroom building constructed by the American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC. Prior to this boys met for classes in a trailer, girls in a mosque.
Crisis in Afghanistan After the defeat of the Taliban, there was a tremendous surge of demand for education, especially for girls. Three million students have been enrolled in school, thirty percent of them girls. Yet years of fighting have damaged and destroyed most of the schools in the country. It is estimated that 7,500 schools are in need of repair or reconstruction. Non-governmental agencies (NGOs), like AFSC, have taken on the task of rebuilding the schools.
School Cost Figures:
What is the AFSC?The American Friends Service Committee is a part of the worldwide Society of Friends (Quakers). Acting on their belief that there is an "inner light" in every human being, AFSC has been active in promoting non-violent alternatives to conflict, as well as helping refugees and victims of war, both through emergency aid and longer term development efforts.In Afghanistan, AFSC continues in its commitment to education with:
Girls High School In 2003, AFSC needs $51,000 for the construction of a girl's high school in Yakawlang, Bamiyan district in central Afghanistan. The school will have twelve classrooms and an office and library room. AFSC is working with an Afghan group, Shuhada, a non-governmental organization with special emphasis on the empowerment of women and children. They are in charge of the building project and will be there to follow up once the school is built.
The people in this area of Afghanistan are from the Hazara group, a Sh'ia minority in a country of primarily Sunni Moslems. The Hazaras are more progressive about girls' education than other groups in Afghanistan. Many of the people in the area have recently returned or moved into the area after having been displaced during the war. Some had experience in Pakistan or elsewhere where they were exposed to new ideas about the role of women. Only fifteen percent of women in Afghanistan are literate as opposed to forty percent of men. Currently there is a girl's high school in a maddrasa in Yakawlang, supported by Iranians, and the girls are instructed almost exclusivly in religious studies.
The new school will provide an alternative and increase opportunities for girls to do things such as become teachers. During the years of the Taliban, girls were forbidden to go to school or to work outside the home and there is now a shortage of women teachers to teach in girls classrooms. Bamiyan also has a university which is now being rebuilt.
How can I help?You can make a tax deductible donation. Please send cash or check (payable to "Afghan School Project") to St. Luke's Episcopal Church, PO Box 292; High Street, Hope, New Jersey 07844. If you need a receipt for tax purposes, please indicate so in your letter.If you need more info, please contact us at (908) 459-4340 or via email. |
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