Thirty Rural Afghan Girls to Teacher Training

Thank you for supporting us to help 30 young women from rural northern Afghanistan continue to be transported safely to our Teacher Training Center. These aspiring female teachers attend training classes six days a week and look forward to educating students from their villages after completing the two-year-long cycle.

Here is how our program has impacted Anahita:

"It is my second and last year studying at TTC. I have the highest score on exams. The TTC classes, supplemental English classes, and computer classes are great tools provided by Sahar through AAFF here at Dawlat Abad. I tutor high school boys and girls in 8th, 9th, 11th grades at home. There is a Teacher Training Association as part of TTC every Wednesday. I make English lesson plans for all of my classmates and help them practice before classes. This is because I can pronounce words well and and I know the meanign so I can translate to my classmates wehn they need. Our computer classes instructor at TTC has taught us MS Excel and MS Power Point programs. Barely any school teachers use Power Point slides even in the city schools. This prepares us with cutting edge technology and makes us better candidates as we try to find jobs."

This level of commitment results in a sense of accomplishment and excitement as new teachers enter their own classrooms. “I always think about how I can help improve the lives of my students, relatives and neighbors through my work. I am committed to working hard at the school so that my students are able to think for themselves and become successful members of society,” said Said.  

Afghanistan’s literacy rate is very low and among the literate population women are a minority. The Asia Foundation conducted a public opinion poll in 2017 of Afghan citizens and " more than a third (36.4% said education/illiteracy is a problem for women, making this the biggest problem facing woemen cited across all genders, ages, ethnicities, and the rural/urban divide". Additionally, according to the Human Rights Watch report in 2017, " Only 37 percent of adolescent girls are literate, compared to 66 percent of adolescent boys." 

After 13-14 years of age, female students prefer and feel more comfortable being taught by female teacher. Families are also more likely to send their daughters to school if the teachers are women, or let them stay in school longer if the teachers are women. Afghanistan lacks professional teachers, both males and female, in general because only 43% of them meet the minimum qualifications for teaching and most of them are in urban areas. There are very few female teachers; only 32% of the teachers are women. The rural areas are in dire need of female teachers. The lower the number of female teachers results in fewer female students in middle and high school. 

This program allows more girls in rural northern Afghanistan with the opportunity to learn. These 30 future teachers, who you have helped transport to our teacher training center, will impact an estimated 3,500 students a year upon graduation.

We believe that one female teacher has the power to change the future of girls’ education!