Education brings opportunity and hope for the future.

When we had spoken with Afghan students nobody had a vision for their country or their future. They were focused on survival. Now almost every student talks about the future. The responses of three of the girls are particularly memorable:

One said, I want to be a teacher so I can improve my community and make my country less dependent on foreign assistance.

Another said, I want to be a teacher so I can make sure that girls are taught about math, history and science. Not just the Koran.

The last said, I want to become the Minister of Education. I want to ensure there are schools not only for boys but girls!

We also interviewed the Minister of Education in one of the districts where we are working. We asked, “What do you think has changed the most in the communities since we started building schools? Without hesitating he smiled and said, HOPE. You’ve given us hope again.

We’d love to share a story to illustrate this:

Parvana’s Story
Back in 2003, at the first girls’ school Julia and her colleagues built, imagine the excitement in this community on the day the school was opened. There was a huge celebration with music, songs, speeches and a feast. It was something that the community will remember for years to come. 420 girls showed up that day, as well as 8 female teachers.

Despite the new school, there were a number of girls in the community who were not at the ceremony. Their fathers did not believe that girls should be educated.

One was a little Afghan girl who was about nine. We don’t know her name, but we’ll call her Parvana. While all of her friends started the first grade, she was told to stay home and work.

You can just imagine Parvana with her long black hair and twinkling brown eyes. Day after day, she saw her classmates walking into school, most wearing a new black school uniform with a white chador over their heads.

Encouraged by the excitement of her friends, she started sneaking into school. Realizing the danger, the principal pulled Parvana aside one day and warned her of the severe consequences if she were caught. Although she could have been publicly whipped or stoned for disobeying her father, Parvana simply asked the principal to keep her secret.

Days went by and Parvana continued to show up at school. Then, one day, as dreaded, Parvana’s desk was empty. The principal feared the worse.

Well, earlier that week Parvana’s father had received a letter from a relative in Pakistan. He was illiterate; he couldn’t read it. Nor could anyone else in his family. Subsequently, this little girl bravely came forward and told her father that she could read it for him. Instead of beating her, he embraced her. Although he was shocked, he was proud. She was the first person in three generations to read in her family.

This story and stories like it reverberated throughout the district. Parvana’s school went from 420 girls and 8 teachers to almost 1,000 girls and over 20 teachers. Soon afterwards, other girls’ schools in the area started and blossomed as well. This one little girl had caused an amazing ripple effect. Except for Kabul, there are more girls in school in this province than in almost any other part of Afghanistan.