Afghanistan –
Agriculture and Health Development Organization (AHDO)
Balkh Center and Char
Bolak
At the time the Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan in 2001, the literacy for women, who had not been allowed to attend school or work, fell below 7%.
In response to requests of Balkh communities and community leaders, AHDO proposes to offer Learning for Life Foundation and Bridge Classes to 150 women in two districts of Balkh Province in order to increase the number of women who can serve as Community Health Workers (CHWs), Trained Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Community Midwives (CMWs) to support the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in their communities AHDO has successfully implemented training and reconstruction projects in provinces (i.e., Khost, Ghazni , Paktika and Paktya) and effectively implementing a 12 month Learning for Life project in Khost AHDO has gained familiarity with the education and health needs of Afghan women.
To implement this project, AHDO will collaborate with other NGOs working in Balkh that are also aware of these needs: Coordination of Afghan Relief (CoAR) and International Rescue Committee (IRC). After participating in the LfL Foundation Classes, 25-50% of the female trainees will serve as Community Health Workers (CHWs), Trained Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Health Educators (HE) who are linked to clinics and district hospitals in the target districts.
Approximately 50% of the CHW and TBA enrollees in the Literacy Bridge classes will be eligible to enter the Community Midwife Education Program in Balkh Province. Rotarians will participate on an on-going basis in the project, by visiting and communicating with project manager, trainer and the five village literacy facilitators and participants during the time of the project.
Afghan Ministry of
Education
Girl’s High School, Mazar-I-Sharif, Balkh Province
After 30 years of international and civil wars, and natural disasters, Afghanistan became the poorest country in the world according to the United Nations. At the time the Taliban were removed from power in 2001, there were no schools, teachers, textbooks or school supplies. Literacy for women, who had not been allowed to attend school or work, fell below 7%.
Education is one of the most powerful tools of development. It is a building block for eliminating poverty, oppression and extremism. When children are educated, their future income increases dramatically, they and their children live longer and healthier lives, and malnutrition in the family declines sharply. Education also provides safe environments for children to come together to learn about other languages, religions, cultures and customs, learn about rule of law and non-violent dispute resolution, and build bridges and breakdown misunderstandings and misperceptions between classmates.
Despite the importance of education, the Afghan Ministry of Education has admitted it does not have the funds to sustain schools in most communities. When only one school can be maintained, boys are given priority. Consequently, there is a huge imbalance in the education of males and females.
The average educational level of females is fifth grade. Hence, communities desperately need the help of the international community to help communities educate girls. In Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan with a population of 500,000, there is not enough equipment for running more then 3 high schools serving girls.
According to the Ministry, the girls' high school we will be helping is most in need of help of any school on the province’s priority list. To promote education and raise the education levels of children, especially girls in the north-central part of the country, the project will help rehabilitate and supply a high school for 3,600 girls and 112 teachers in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Rotary’s funds will help purchase desks, chairs, tables, and blackboards for, as well as provide clean wells, sanitary latrines, new textbooks, new windows and doors, and school and office supplies. Rotarians will participate on an on-going basis with the high school students, by visiting and communicating with the schools and students during the time of the project. The main repair will be completed by the end of 2007. Our Afghan cooperating partner, however, will continue working with the school for three subsequent years.