By Elizabeth Appleyard | Program Officer
Dear Friends,
We are delighted to let you know that an AIL project has been selected as one of only six projects in the GlobalGiving Girl Fund! The project is 921 Afghan Institute of Learning Empowers Afghan Women. This project will receive one sixth of the donations made during the rest of this year to this special fund!
We would not have been selected for this opportunity without the support we received in the month of March from many donors such as yourselves. Great team effort! Thank you!
Project Update
AIL provides a variety of educational opportunities for women and girls, especially those in rural communities. This education helps them to improve their lives. Fast track classes continue to be a popular option at many Learning Centers. One of the most popular is the 4 month long Mobile Literacy Class. This class enables students to acquire literacy at a much faster rate than in the traditional literacy class. So far in 2017, there has been one class in Herat for 30 students running during the months of January through April. 13 students started the class not knowing the alphabet, 9 could read a little and 9 were reading at first grade level. We will update you on the results when these have been collated. The students learned to use the phone and compose hundreds of text messages during the class on various topics including health, peace, democracy and society and share them with their teacher, students and friends. There is also a social component to this class enabling the students to be in contact with relatives and friends which decreases isolation.
"My name is Qamar. I am a 13-year old girl. I reached the third grade in school before I was asked to stop and stay home and help my mother with the chores. While at home, I did not practice my writing, therefore I forgot everything I learned. However, as the time passed, I became aware of what happened to me. The majority of girls around me went to school and became educated. I felt lost. I did not have the knowledge or ability to speak and build relationships with my peers. I blamed my family, especially my mother for this misery. A cousin of mine knew how I suffered. She suggested I make a change in my life. Regardless of how old I was, it was never too late for me to learn. At first I was ashamed, but finally I said I was going to do it. My cousin enrolled my name in the mobile literacy class at AIL. Now I am relearning my childhood lessons and becoming familiarized with new words day by day. I learn how to write messages and send them. I can save my friends numbers and interact with them through text messages. I thank Professor Sakena Yacoobi for providing educational programs for girls. By participating in this class, I am encouraged to continue my education.”
To give you an idea of how successful this fast track class is: 255 (85%) of the 300 students who attended the ten Mobility Literacy classes in 2016 went from little to no literacy ability to a fourth grade reading and writing ability in four months! 45 students completed the classes at a third grade level. A great achievement for these students and AIL.
In 2016, 8,842 rural girls and women attended 15 LCs in Herat part of the body of 16,197 females who attended LCs under AIL management. Thank you for being part of the support for these centers and the women who rely on them.
By Elizabeth Appleyard | Program Officer
By Elizabeth Appleyard | Program Officer
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