Giving The Gift Of Education: How One Man Is Making A Difference For Afghanistan's Children
Afghanistan’s education system has been devastated by more than three decades of sustained conflict. For many children, especially girls, completing primary school remains a distant dream. Yet one man and a few volunteers have decided to make education a reality for nearly 1,000 boys and girls.
1
Wazir Khan, a 23-year-old Afghan, conducts outdoor classes on the outskirts of Kabul on October 4. Khan started the Today's Child Mobile School more than a year ago to provide free education for needy Afghan families.
2
An Afghan girl reads a lesson in front of her peers.
Since seizing power in August 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of international troops, the Afghan Taliban has imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law on the country that largely excludes young girls and women from education. The lack of education and the curtailing of female teachers has been devastating, especially to children who live outside urban areas.
Since seizing power in August 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of international troops, the Afghan Taliban has imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law on the country that largely excludes young girls and women from education. The lack of education and the curtailing of female teachers has been devastating, especially to children who live outside urban areas.
3
"The children didn't have access to formal school and had remained illiterate. And that was why I established the school," Khan, who is also a student at a private university, told the Xinhua News Agency.
4
Three volunteers assist Khan in educating the students, most of whom lack textbooks or notepads. Classes are composed of 100 to 200 children and are taught for two hours per day, three days a week, out in the elements and without an outhouse.
5
"The children of many elders in this area don't go to school. We have visited their houses, knocked on their doors, and discussed with them the importance of education in several meetings and finally convinced them to send their boys and girls to our school," Khan said proudly.
6
Even though the studying is at times under the scorching sun, the children who attend Khan's classes are eager to learn and enrollment numbers have surpassed 1,000 over the past year, including children with disabilities.
7
Khan teaches a small group of children. The curriculum includes Sirat al-Nabi, a biography of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, Pashto and Dari (Persian) -- the two official languages of Afghanistan -- as well as English and the art of speaking.
8
Afghan children leave their class.
UNICEF estimates that 3.7 million children do not attend school in Afghanistan, and 60 percent of them are girls.
UNICEF estimates that 3.7 million children do not attend school in Afghanistan, and 60 percent of them are girls.
