Scholarships for At-risk Youth in Afghanistan

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thank you for your ongoing support of Bamyan Foundation! Your generous donations have enabled us to help prevent our partner schools from collapse due to COVID-19 pandemic. From the Foundation’s inception, it has been our focus to provide support to grassroots and community-based educational institutions in the best manner possible. Since 2016, we have provided 526 scholarships to students at our partern schools, 272 scholarships to girls and 254 scholarships to boys. Our partner schools are located in the historically marginalized Hazara communities. They are part of an education revolution that began among Hazaras after the US-led international intervention in Afghanistan and removal of the Taliban. The Hazaras were brutally suppressed under the Taliban. Since 2001, there has been a dichotomy in the approach of the Afghan Central Government and the international development assistance with respect to development and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan – focus on the Taliban insurgency and prioritizing development resources in conflict-affected areas. In other words, development efforts followed the insurgency and as a result, peaceful areas were predominantly ignored from the international development assistance. The Hazaras overwhelmingly believe that historical and systematic discrimination and marginalization also played a major role in stopping the arrival of development assistance to their areas that have been peaceful since 2001.

Despite said lack of attention, hundreds of schools have been created in the Hazara areas of Afghanistan with minimum outside assistance. The schools have been built at local village level, where villagers tightened their belt and contributed their meagre resources towards building of schools. Some donated land and others contributed in cash and they took part in building each school, brick by brick until completion. In other words, the schools have been created by the communities in various districts, cities and provinces and sustained by the communities, and the schools enroll both girls and boys. This is a testament to a community’s resolve towards social growth, and transition within one generation towards education, peaceful norms and moderate values. Needless to say, enormous challenges remain for such transitions in an inhospitable environment and a little help from supporters abroad will go a long way. 

Our scholarship program helps such institutions in the most direct way possible. These schools are private/fee-based, and private schools play a major role educating the Afghan youth. In fact, approximately five hundred thousand youths attend private schools as public school system is not able to accommodate them. The private schools have created livelihood for nearly 5000 teachers and staff. The private schools survive based on incoming student tuition, which in turn, is used to pay for teacher and staff salaries. Our scholarship program fund covers a child’s yearly tuition, transportation, uniform and stationary costs. The fund is in turn used to cover teacher and staff salaries. In other words, your generous donations not only help a child get an education but also help the school stay solvent as the school is enabled to keep its valued and trained teachers and staff by providing them a source of income. In the process, the Foundation plays a crucial role in strengthening and empowering local communities to find the best solutions to their need – in this case educating the youth and providing them a sense of optimism for future.

Student Scholarship Update:

Upon the school reopening on August 22, 2020, we resumed our scholarship program with our partner schools. Your generosity and support made it possible. Due to the pandemic, the Afghan Ministry of Education devised the following approach:

2020 Semester 1: 8/22/20 – 12/21/20

Midterm Exam

2020 Semester 2: 3/5/21 – 6/5/21

Final Exam

2021 first and second semesters: 6/22/21 – 12/21/21

Marefat High School: Upon school reopening, we provided 92 scholarships to students at Marefat, 48 scholarships to girls and 44 scholarships to boys. We have heard from multiple students at Marefat. Pakeeza is one of them. She is a member of 12 member family with nine females and three males. The older sisters have all studied at Marefat starting from Marefat’s Adult Literacy School. Four of the girls showed great talent and enthusiasm completing all the six grades in one year. They completed the entire school period (successive grades) in six years, graduated and went to universities. Pakeeza and her siblings have also demonstrated great talent in music and are members of Marefat’s music band called “SA” (Sound of Afghanistan), which is now an established brand in Afghanistan.

Rahnaward: We provided 88 scholarships to students at Rahnaward, 48 scholarships to girls and 40 scholarships to boys. We would like to introduce you to one of our students named Sahar in 8^th grade at Rahnaward. Sahar lives in a family of 14 people. Sahar’s father works as a driver earning 12000 Afs (about $150) per month that isn’t sufficient to support a family of 14. Because of his commitment to educate his children, he has brought Sahar and her two brothers and two sister to the center of the district from his village that is about 15 km away from the school, and has rented a small place for them close to the school. Sahar and her father are very happy that she has been awarded a scholarship by the Foundation. Sahar is very motivated to study and she recounts, “I studied from the first to the fifth grade in a school near our village, but I leaned nothing due to the low quality. I have been learning a lot since I have been in Rahnaward school, and I am currently in category A”. Painting and Biology are Sahar’s favorite subjects. Mr. Navid, Sahar’s teacher, often refers to Sahar as role model for other students given her dedication towards her studies. Sahar wants to be a teacher in the future.

Baba: We provided 23 scholarships to students at Baba, 14 scholarships to girls and 9 scholarships to boys. One of our student is Mahnaz, 5^th grade, whose father was killed by the Taliban. She is excelling in her education at Baba and lives with her mother and two brothers and sisters. Her mother is the head of the family and works at a tailor shop to provide for her family. According to her teacher, Mahnaz is talented, polite and creative. She is interested in math and science and wants to become a doctor in the future.

ROYA: We are committed to continue our support to the nine former child laborers through our partnership with ROYA (Resources of Young Afghans), and see them continue their education this year and also help cover the fees for their upcoming winter classes. They continue their education at Royesh School and are happy to be studying in-person again. It was an extremely challenging time for students, teachers and administrators and their school have been badly affected financially. Together, we hope to weather the storm.

We thank you again for your generosity and continued support of the Bamyan Foundaton. Our collective efforts undoubtedly help with making a lasting impact towards educating the at-risk youth and the survival and longevity of our grassroots partner schools. We ask you to please share this update with others in your networks. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

The Bamyan Foundation Team