10x10: The Girls Education Project

It was my first glimpse of Afghanistan: a man prostrate on the ground, praying beside a hollow-eyed merchant selling flat bread; barbed wire, almost like a child’s tight curls, cascading over walls, over street partitions, everywhere; bright neon-lit venues where families pay hundreds of dollars they don’t have for elaborate weddings; and women, some with heads covered in black, eyes just visible…some in blue burkas, no eyes at all…their faces down, scurrying into hidden spaces.

Kabul International Airport

As I wrote previously, the status of these women hangs in the balance in the face of an uncertain future for Afghanistan. We believe that Afghanistan, or any country for that matter, cannot experience its full potential unless the female citizenry experience theirs. And that begins with equal access to quality education for all children. Empowered girls become empowered women who invest in their families and communities.

That’s the story we hope to discover and tell here in Afghanistan. And that’s what brought me to Kabul today. I’m in transit to the northeastern Warsaj region to scout for the 10×10 film and hopefully discover the one girl whose story will represent the potential of this troubled land.

I’m joined by the wonderful Dr. Sarah Fane who will be 10×10′s guide in Afghanistan these next few weeks. Fane fell in love with Afghanistan in her twenties when she worked as a doctor along the northern Pakistan border delivering babies and other urgent medical care there.  After returning to England a few years later, marrying and having four children of her own, Fane started a non-profit called Afghan Connection which has built dozens of schools in the northeastern part of the country with the help of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA).  Our team could not be in better hands.

My simple, but immaculate room in the SCA compound

After landing in Kabul, Dr. Fane and I are driven to the Swedish Committee compound in the city. A real “compound” it is.  We pass through one guarded gate, then another. What appears to be a metal wall suddenly parts before us, and two men with machine guns usher us in to a small, surprisingly peaceful courtyard.  This will be our home in Kabul until heading onward to the Warsaj District.

To understand more about the current situation for Afghan women, read 10×10 Advisory Board member Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s new Daily Beast article, Women of the World Unite! where she argues that a democratic Afghanistan won’t work unless Afghan women are involved in the peace process.

Links:

• http://10x10act.org/blog/

Hello All--

In the past few months, we have been continuing on our journey to find stories of the most inspiring girls around the world. Recently, our team traveled to Haiti and India, where we worked with NGO partners like World Vision and Plan International, and had the  opportunity to meet some very courageous girls.

Currently, our team is on its second trip to Ethiopia, with our writer Maaza Mengiste. The team has also met with grassroots organizations all around the country and met with a girls' soccer team that uses sport to educate girls abut HIV/AIDS. These girls' attitudes shine as an inspiration to all of us every day. From the field, 10x10 team member Justin has been sending us updates. Below is one of his notes from the field:

And be sure to read more about what is going on qt 10x10, at 10x10act.org/blog .

Hello Homeland 10x10ers!

After my last shower in New York on Friday and a few last minute e mails

from the airport, I am for the first time in five days both freshly showered and

connected to the internet! Luxuries are rewards in Ethiopia, and their absence

a testament to the lacking infrastructure in the country, but nevertheless at this

moment, putting a huge smile on my face. I am pleased that I did not have

running water or internet connection for my first few days in Africa, somehow...it

made adjusting easier.

Often times after a long journey to a faraway place, when the cockpit door of the

plane opens and you take that first breath, it serves as the first impression of a

place, and leaves a lasting sensory impact that will forever remind one of what

it meant to be there. A pleasing welcome, Africa smelled of semi-damp myrrh,

smoked dung, cedar and diesel, which set the scenario for everything to come

while reinforcing that I had, indeed, arrived in Africa.

There are certain aspects of Ethiopia that indeed make you sit back and say, this

is Africa, while others make you feel like you are simply in any other developing

country: the diesel-infused air, the instant coffee and dry bread (which tastes

smoked) with jam, the laundry hanging from lines, the aggressive flies, street

vendors, and cars dodging donkeys and goats. Africa is both heartbreaking and

hopeful. Perfectly symmetrical concave faces always gazing with piercing eyes

of hatred, desperation and admiration cut through you like barbed reminders of

the injustice of one’s birthright. From time to time, bright white smiles protrude

this façade, serving as genuine happy reminders of of hope, human interaction

and a bright culture embracing opportunities.

After nearly 36 hours of travel by airplane, taxi, and mini-bus, we finally

arrived late Sunday afternoon to Haramaya University, in the mountains just

before the lowlands of the Somalian-Ethiopian border. The resilience of the

students and the teachers were what left the biggest impression on me.

There are no showers, no internet and electricity is very sporadic. Buckets

serve as receptacles for water when it is available. The water schedule

is inconsistent, sometimes once a day for one hour, sometimes not for a

week. Ironically, when the water does run, most likely you can't turn it off. Most

faucets do not shut off, so water just pours until the entire community is shut

off at once. For a country living in a near 20-year drought, this practice seems

illogical to me, but perhaps it is just another reminder of the clear lack of

infrastructure in Ethiopia.

The closest internet is a ride down the mountain, almost one hour away to Dire

Dawa. This trip is both time consuming and expensive, making most curriculum

internet free. Electricity is the most consistent commodity, usually only going out

once or twice a day for 3-4 hours. Student housing are 1 story dorms made of

sheet metal with out-houses. Up to 12 men sleep in the same room, mattresses

are yellowed, sheets are sometimes hung to give a bunk a bit of privacy instead

of used as bedding. The girls are in a similar unit, far from the boys, which I

assume must not smell quite as bad. The resilience and dedication of people is

incredible. Despite all odds, these are the future leaders of Ethiopia, the ones

who had the opportunity to go to school and have received scores high enough

to get into University. These are students so happy to just be studying that the

lack of water, privacy, bathrooms, electricity or internet doesn’t matter. Studying

is the focus, and these students know that they have a role to fulfill to their

country. The students smile and are proud.

The expats in Ethiopia are exhausted and hopeless. Our first nights dinner

was at a VSO employee's home. Patricia Basset is a wonderful woman from

the UK who has dedicated her later years and nursing expertise to teaching

nursing in Malawi and now Sociology in Ethiopia. She is an advocate against

FGM practice. Generally, the expats and volunteers in Ethiopia who we've met

are frustrated by the work of their peers and themselves not seeming to have any

impact. They all seem to critique the lack of local government support and lack of

infrastructure. They all have the same question: will anything ever change here?

The next day we went to the walled city of Harar, a 16th

century Muslim pilgrimage site, with 368 cobblestone alleyways carved into a

1km square hill. The city was incredible, equally Muslim as Orthodox Christian,

both groups co-existing peacefully and praying constantly. The cloaked women

and girls were beautiful, flowered prints flowing as they sauntered down the

streets balancing baskets of figs and mangos on their heads. Cardamom and

ginger permeates the air as you get lost in bustling alleyways, spice markets and

fabric shops. The children in the city yell - FARANJI (foreign) - upon spotting

bright white skin and sneak out of dark corners and little doors to get in a quick

touch. Certain brave ones would latch on to my hand and accompany me a

block of two, smiles from ear to ear, while others would rub my arm and look

at their hand, a curious gesture answering whether or not the white rubs off or

not. Unfortunately, most of these children are not in school.

I was pleased to sit down and interview a Gender Expert in the Gender Office

at Haramaya University. Rozina, a stunning 25 year old Ethiopian from Addis,

spoke with me for almost 2 hours about the situation for girls growing up in

Ethiopia, what it means to go to University post-secondary, as well as the

tremendous barriers girls and women face, even into adulthood.

I have just made it to Addis and have a few good hours of work before I am off at

7:00 a.m. with CARE Ethiopia to drive to the Northeast region of Ethiopia to visit

schools and girls in migratory pastoral communities. We will be there for the next

three days. From my understanding, the climate in this region, low desert and

soaring temperatures, make it among the most unbearable places to survive on

the planet. I can hardly wait! My excitement is insatiable now that I have gotten

a taste!

We are in good spirits, happy, healthy and humbled. Probably will be off the

radar for a couple of days, so please don't worry. Hope all is well at home base!

Justin

Thank you all for your support!

Links:

• 10x10 Homepage
• 10x10 Blog