Donations will be earmarked to support earthquake-resistant repairs/rebuilding of schools for Afghan girls. The 12 girls killed by the October 26 earthquake, at their Taluqan school, are a tragic reminder of the importance of earthquake-resistant engineering and construction. Sahar has been building earthquake-resistant girls schools in northern Afghanistan since 2004, and thankfully none were severely damaged despite violent shaking. We will help other nearby schools that were not so fortunate.
Early reports indicate widespread destruction of buildings in northern Afghanistan. The struggles of the Afghan government and NGOs to build the educational infrastructure for Afghan girls is hard enough without earthquakes, and we fear that many shortcuts have been taken in the concerted, but always underfunded, effort to meet the rising educational expectations of girls and their families.
We will earmark all funds from this microproject for the repair/rebuilding of schools damaged by the October 26 earthquake in Northern Afghanistan. All schools we have built survived this tremor with minimal damage. And the latest school we built, Gohar Khaton, has won a great deal of attention for innovation in earthquake resistance, all using local materials and labor. We will share our expertise and capabilities with other schools as they rebuild.
A well built, functioning school provides a healthy and safe environment for a community's children, and a place where they learn the skills they need to become productive and peaceful adults. Many school buildings have been constructed in Afghanistan in recent years. But a building alone does not make a school. To be successful, it must be supplied, have qualified teachers, be fully supported by its community, and become fully sustained by its community. That's our long-term goal.
