Teach Young Afghan Women to Teach Afghan Girls

Project Report | Sep 24, 2020
Thanks for your support!

By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director, Sahar Education

Dear Friend of Sahar,

Thank you for supporting the Dawlat-Abad Teacher Training Center (TTC). As you know, the TCC is the only center of its kind in the areas that we work that provides female high school graduates with career training. The women who have graduated from the TCC have gone on to become local school teachers, opened schools for adult learners, and helped girls who are out of school get back in the classroom. In this sense, TTC does much more than train women to become teachers, it empowers women to empower others.

Unfortunately, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education closed all educational institutions, including the TTC in March in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. While we were unable to continue our work in the classroom, we continued to support the Afghan communities we have served for nearly 20 years. As I mentioned in my last update, we supplied families with food, masks, and hand soap. These necessities are essential for families in and around Mazar-e-Sharif, especially those who are unemployed because of the pandemic. In late August, schools reopened with limited in-person classes. We are also happy to announce that the TCC recently reopened!

We are happy for our students’ return to the classroom but are also prioritizing the need to keep everyone safe from the virus. In response, we are working to make sure that our students and teachers have the resources they need to learn and teach in a COVID-19 compliant way. We look forward to keeping you updated as the next generation of Afghanistan’s teachers get back to learning.

Until then, on behalf of Sahar, thank you for your continued contributions. Your support of work is so important, especially during this time, and we could not be more grateful.

Best regards,

Ginna

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May 27, 2020
Thank you for your support!

By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director

Thank you for supporting the Dawlat-Abad Teacher Training Center (TTC), the only center that provides female high school graduates a career in the rural areas where Sahar worksk. Girls who attend this center have higher chances of attending two more years in Mazar-e-Sharif to take their career building to a higher level. TTC graduates have become local school teachers,encouraging other girls to attend school, contributing to a safer educational experience, empowering females economically, and contributing to female activism at a local level. Some TTC graduates have opened home schools for older illiterate women and have helped girls who are left behind from school to get back into the classroom.

Unfortunately, all educational institutes, including the Sahar supported TTC, are closed by the Ministry of Education due to Coronavirus pandemic. Despite all economic activities on halt due to Coronavirus, we have continued to support the communities we have served for nearly 20 years. For many of the families we work with, the main source of income is through day laborers. Without daily economic activities, the pandemic has impacted them the most. Sahar is helping these communities by providing food, PPEs, and soap, keeping our staff employed, focusing on capacity development and training of staff from home, and providing self-care for the staff and students through phone.

Sahar’s TTC previously had teachers who commuted daily from Mazar-e-Sharif(suburb) to Dowlat-Abad(rural), making a daily 45 minutes commute. In an attempt to enhance the program and use local talent, Sahar is hiring new graduates from Balkh University Information Technology Program to teach in the TTC. The new hires are from Dawlat-Abad, where our TTC is located and thus do not commute. This lowers the risk of Covid-19 for our staff and security issues of travel, and makes them more accessible to their students..

The Sahar team appreciates your contribution and help during these hard times and hopes for your further support during the Coronavirus pandemic. Together, we are stronger!

Warmly,

Ginna Brelsford

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Jan 31, 2020
Thank you for supporting Afghan Female Teachers!

By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director

Dear Supporter,

Your continuous support and donations mean our programs training female teachers in northern Afghanistan continues to train much needed female teachers and empower girls and women to achieve their educational goals.

2019 marked the graduation of 850 students from our Teacher Training Center in rural Dawlat Abad, Northern Afghanistan. This year we have over 100 new students enrolled! We are excited to celebrate our graduating teachers and know that thanks to the TTC, they are better prepared to move forward in their teaching careers.

The importance of this program for girls and their families is beyond words. A lack of teachers is an enormous problem in Afghanistan where the school system has been flooded by students since the fall of Taliban rule. Due to the repercussions of that period, women teachers are especially in need. Of the 412 districts in Afghanistan, 245 currently don’t have a single woman qualified to teach. In rural areas, finding a qualified teacher is even more difficult. According to a World Bank report, only 37% of rural girls are in school in Afghanistan, compared to 73% of urban girls. Through this Teacher Training Center, Sahar helps to curb the lack of eligible female teachers in rural areas and encourages more young women and girls to continue school.

The additional classes offered at the Sahar supported center, such as computer skills, English language, advanced math, and science have attracted more students and families in Dawlat Abad which demonstrates the trust built and the long term and deep connection between Sahar and the community with whom Sahar works.

“The addition of classes like science, math, and English language in TTC students’ curriculum is a great advantage and puts students ahead in their career as a teacher. The increased interest and enrollment also indicates that more girls are interested in becoming a teacher in their community and there are more teachers in the community which is why we have more female students this year.” -TTC Computer teacher

Thank you for your contribution and dedication to girls and women’s empowerment in Afghanistan!

Best,

Ginna Brelsford, Executive Director

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