COVID-19 Response: Help Afghan Girls and Families

Project Report | Dec 28, 2020
Thank you for supporting us!

By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director

Dear Friend of Sahar,

Thank you for your support of Sahar Education during these challenging times. Your contributions are especially important as we work with Afghan communities to respond to COVID-19.

In November, Afghanistan’s Minister of Health announced that a second wave of COVID-19 had begun to spread due to cold weather. In Balkh Province where we work, the majority of people who have tested positive are living in home isolation. Promoting mask-wearing and social distancing remains key to decreasing infections and ensuring the ability of local hospitals to respond to severe cases. Despite increased rates of infection, public schools are still open and students continue to receive in-person classes. Given that our programs take place within these schools, our priority is to ensure the safety and security of both students and teachers.

With your generous contributions, we’ve been able to maintain COVID-19 compliant learning environments by providing masks, hand sanitizer, and requiring students to pass temperature checks before coming into the classroom. We’ve also worked hard to reduce the number of students within each room and ensure they remain socially distant from one another. With these measures in place, we’ve been able to continue our programs and expand our impact in the community. Zaitona, one of our recent Early Marriage Prevention graduates, says Sahar has taught her “...that every small step in life has its own challenges and consequences...we should not give up on anything. We should struggle and become strong to overcome our challenges.”

COVID-19 has been an immense challenge for Sahar and the communities with which we work but, thanks to your support, we’re able to continue the fight for girls’ education and gender equity in Afghanistan. Because of your gifts girls like Zaitona receive life-changing education even amidst a pandemic.

We are incredibly grateful to have you on this journey with us.

Kindest wishes,

Ginna Brelsford

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Aug 31, 2020
Thanks for helping us respond to COVID-19!

By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your support of Sahar Education! The communities of northern Afghanistan’s Balkh Province are better prepared to respond to COVID-19 because of your generosity.

Before the pandemic began, 52% of Afghanistan's population was living in poverty and 45% was food insecure according to the Afghan Government. COVID-19 brought high levels of unemployment to the country, coupled with an already weak healthcare system and the inaccessibility of health services to rural communities. Afghanistan's Ministry of Education closed all schools in March and experts predict the long-term negative impact on the education of many children, especially young girls. After six months of school closures, many girls will have difficulty returning to school because of the financial situations of their families. With a lack of income because of the pandemic, families may send young girls to work or choose to marry them off early to support their economic situation.

Sahar has responded to COVID-19 in a variety of ways. First, the teachers in our Early Marriage Prevention Program worked from home while continuing to keep in touch with our students through WhatsApp groups. Through these groups, EMPP teachers posted their lectures online, gave assignments, and spoke with students. Virtual lessons have been a great mechanism for students to keep learning, cope with stress through yoga and meditation lessons, and stay informed about how to stay healthy in response to COVID-19. Sahar also distributed booklets to households in the community to educate families about best practices for preventative health. These booklets were in local languages, including Dari and Pashto, and had picture illustrations to accommodate high levels of illiteracy. Also, we distributed care packages with face masks, hand sanitizer, and soap to local families. To support the community, the contents of the care packages were sourced from local female-owned businesses.

The Ministry of Education reopened schools on August 24, 2020, which means Sahar will be working with local communities to help get girls back in school while keeping their health and safety a priority. Sahar’s work and your support of our programs are even more critical to the communities we serve in the light of the challenging circumstances of COVID-19. Together, we will continue:

educating over 25,000 girls in Sahar-built schools each year
teaching digital literacy to over 4,000 girls in our computer centers
training teachers as part of our Teacher Training Center (from which 160 women have already graduated)
accompanying men in gender allyship through our Men as Partners in Change program
building a boarding school for 265 rural girls to continue their education
providing soap, face masks, hand sanitizer, and other COVID-19 necessities to communities in need

We could not respond to COVID-19 in the communities of Mazar-i-Sharif without you. Thank you for your support and for making a difference in the lives of Afghan girls.

Gratefully yours,

Ginna

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