Help Afghanistan Children Stay in School

The Future for Afghanistan Children Organization (FACO) based in Mazar-i-Sharif has been very busy these past few months. They have hosted a theater camp which was attended by over 30 students from poor regions of Afghanistan. This school and the camp specifically are a reflection upon the support of donors and sponsors throughout the world.

Another recent success story is that of Mohammad who is an 18 year old in the 10th grade. He has received 2 years of support from FACO and is now a very hard working young man would like to make a difference in the world. Throughout his continued studies (made possible by donations) he has learned and greatly developed his English skills. In fact he has recently awarded a first place ribbon among the nine northern states of Afghanistan for English. He hopes to continue this high level of achievement.

The FACO technical staff has been busy re-vamping the website and purchasing the new domain www.FACO.af, and coordinating the redirection of the old site www.ChildFoundation.af to bring visitors to this new domain. The site has new content that is much more current and precise. The photos have been updated and the site itself takes on a much friendlier look.

FACO looks foward to future years of helping children with their education but is also faced with realistic challenges such as rising fuel costs and ongoing mid-East tension. With the help of our kind donors and sponsors we will continue to make a difference together.

Links:

• New Website

In 2011, Child Foundation’s program in Mazar-e-Sharif found a great deal of success in graduating 205 girls total from a helpful training course in computers. The girls and young woman that attended this course received a certificate for their work and use this course as a college prep course so that they can continue their education.

Unfortunetely, there were also many challenges, including the difficult path ahead. Enrollment numbers in the classes are declining since children are forced to pay part of the fees. Now more than ever Child Foundation needs your kindness to help these girls continue to receive the education they deserve. Over half of the students are forced to pay for part of the schooling fees, and this puts terrible financial stress on families that are already living far beyond the poverty line.

Another hardship was the school’s difficultly in paying the power bill as the price of petrol continued to rise. The school had budgeted a specific amount for the cost of electricity and could not run their computers and projector when the electricity was lost due to lack of funds.

The school is however, still pushing through to work on some new projects. Human rights, civic social workshops, and English learning courses are beginning to be offered. Top students from graduating classes are encouraged to return and volunteer-teach the class to save money while encouraging continued involvement.

Many girls and students have gone on to become managers, social workers, and official employees in government, at a time when poverty levels are at extreme highs- the power of women in Afghanistan will hopefully continue to steadily rise.

Links:

• Changing the face of the future... One child at a time.