By Timor Karimy | Founder and President
Dear Friends,
If you have been following the news in Afghanistan, the situation is deteriorating for all Afghans, particularly for the long discriminated Hazara community, as they are systematically targeted by Taliban and other terrorist groups. On May 8, 2021, nearly 100 schoolchildren, mostly girls ages 11-15 years old, lost their lives in a devastating terrorist attack in front of Sayed Ul-Shuhada Girls School in Kabul with 240 injured, according to Hashte Sobh. Since then, multiple isolated attacks have targeted passenger vehicles that have killed scores of Hazara civilians. The attacks have been on the rise in recent years and targeted schools, sports centers, places of worship and other civilian facilities in Dashte Barchi, an overpopulated Hazara slum in western part of Kabul. The systematic attacks on the Hazaras on the basis of ethnicity and religion underscores a genocidal intent by the perpetrators.
Our partner schools operate in such a dangerous environment. The teachers and administrators have an immense passion for education. With the schools under attack, they take on incredible risks to educate the young minds. The attack on Sayed Ul-Shuhada occurred not too far from Marefat High School. To mitigate some of the pain and grief, Marefat has reached out to Sayed Ul-Shuhada and has offered enrollment to some of the traumatized students (girls). Bamyan Foundation fully supports Marefat’s approach. With your help, we will provide scholarships to students from Sayed Ul-Shuhada to receive quality education at Marefat.
We are also in the process of adding another reputable institution, Pegah High School, in Kabul to our scholarship program. Pegah has also reached out to Sayed Ul-Shuhada, and the Foundation is committed to provide scholarships to girl students from Sayed Ul-Shuhada at Pegah.
The private schools (e.g. Marefat and Pegah) are better equipped than the overpopulated public schools (e.g. Sayed Ul-Shuhada) and the students have much higher chances of receiving quality education.
Your support is crucial at this important juncture and will go a long way towards educating the traumatized youth. You can play a crucial role in not allowing these bright sparks of Afghanistan's future progress being extinguished one by one.
The schools in Kabul and some of the provinces are currently closed due to a new wave of COVID-19 surge, and we will update you on the total number of scholarships at Marefat and Pegah this academic year in the next quarterly update.
Marefat High School (Kabul):
Most of our 92 students from the 2020 have returned this academic year. We are pleased to inform you that six girls and two boys graduated with distinguishing results after taking their final exams in March 2021. Thanks to your generosity, we have increased the number of scholarships to include new students, and will cover some of the Sayed Ul-Shuhada students at Marefat. We have also provided scholarships to students who have lost a parent(s) via our Ali Rising Afghanistan Youth Scholarships (ARAYS) at Marefat. As mentioned above, the schools are currently closed in Kabul and we will update you on the final number of students at Marefat in the next report.
Rahnaward High School (Ghor):
This academic year, we have increased our scholarships to 104 students (61 girls and 43 boys) at Rahnaward, thanks to your generous support. 16 of the students are covered via our ARYAS program. The students are in good attendance since the school reopening in March 2021. We supported 88 students at Rahnaward in 2020. We are pleased to share with you that five girls and one boy graduated after taking their final exam in March. We only had 3 dropouts.
Baba High School (Bamyan):
We are supporting 30 students (17 boys and 13 girls) at Baba school in 2021 academic year. Seven students are covered via our ARYAS scholarships that are specifically for students who have lost a parent(s). We supported 28 students at Baba in 2020. One boy and one girl graduated and we had seven dropouts. The students are in good attendance so far. Those students who have dropped out/relocated are replaced by new students.
Please know that people move around and relocate frequently in Afghanistan due to insecurity, high unemployment and other factors.
ROYA (Resources of Young Afghans):
We supported nine former child laborers from 2017 through 2020 academic years via our partnership with ROYA and played an important role in their academic and personal growth. We were informed by ROYA earlier this year that they have found other sponsors. Our best wishes to the resilient children and the ROYA team with their good work.
Some of our students, particularly those who graduated, sent us heartfelt biographies recounting their experiences and accomplishments at their schools over the years and their hopes and dreams after high school; however, due to safety and deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, we will not publish them at this time.
Please know that our scholarship program covers a small percentage of students in our partner schools. The number of scholarships are directly related to the amount of funds we raise. We appreciate if you spread the word and shared our program with your networks. The scholarship fund not only help the students get quality education but the funds are in turn used towards teacher salaries and operational costs of the schools. Therefore, you donation plays a crucial role towards strengthening of grassroots educational institutions.
Matching Campaign:
We would like to share a generous 15 hour matching campaign, July Bonus Day, on July 14, 2021 (9:00 AM EDT to 11:59PM EDT). $400,000 USD in matching funds will be available, while funds remain, the following matching structure will apply:
It is our sincere hope that the situation improves in Afghanistan, the lockdown and vaccines slow down the spread of COVID-19, and we hope and pray for peace and stability in Afghanistan. We thank you for your ongoing support of our work. Our collective efforts undoubtedly help with making a lasting impact towards educating the at-risk Hazara youth, particularly girls, and the survival and longevity of our grassroots partner schools.
The Bamyan Foundation Team
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