ASET opens a new office
We have opened a new office and house in Dawlatabad. It is the market town in a district of about 85,000 people, around 80km north-west of Mazar e Sharif. There are currently no foreign workers living there so we are glad to be moving there and starting a new work.
In an area that has been severely hit by drought, there is a lot of need especially for education and training and just about anything that will improve the standard of living. We will open a Computer and English teaching centre and continue to develop the training of school teachers throughout the district, while also looking for other ways to help.
Kindergarten
On March 5th, 45 of our older students graduated. Students took turns to read stories, perform poetry and plays, tell jokes, and show off their maths and writing skills to the parents. Each student was awarded a certificate and a school bag with their file of work inside, and a new notebook and pencil to begin school with. The mothers were amazed by the progress the children have made, and some parents who weren’t going to send their children to school have now been persuaded to do so! Children that would have had a very hard time at school are now prepared with the skills and knowledge they need for a successful and enjoyable education. In many of these poor families they will be the first to go to school & become literate, which will hopefully pave the way for younger siblings.
Women’s Literacy Project
The running of these courses over the next few months will enable up to 200 women in neighbourhoods around Mazar-e-Sharif to learn to read and write in Dari for the first time. Several of the women have shared that being illiterate makes them feel blind, having to rely on others for even basic information such as reading signs and medicine bottles. The aim is that they will gain confidence and skills that will help them to improve not only their own lives, but also those of their families.
Suit-making Project
This has now been completed and achieved its main objectives by improving the tailoring skills of all students, many of whom have translated these skills into income generating work at home. We were also able to launch 3 fully independent and financially successful small businesses, owned & operated by Afghan women & employing workers from outside of their immediate families. Providing business skills training to some of the women has led to 20 valid business plans being submitted to the MicroCredit Bank, which are currently under review.
Ghazni Nomad Project
This pilot project has involved the training of 10 men from Kuchi nomad families as Community Health Workers under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. These Kuchi people are treated with contempt and mistrust & historicall,y very little has been done to reach out to & include them within mainstream Afghan society.
The students are highly motivated and the second phase of the project has seen the introduction of a new course called BLiSS (Birth Life Saving Skills) which was initially developed for mothers, but has now adapted for men. Much fun has been had using role plays to learn about antenatal and perinatal care. Following this training one of the students has much more appreciation for his 2 women. The third phase has begun and is currently focusing on treatment of children.
Wind Turbine Project
After months of preparation the ASET Ghazni workshop is ready and work has begun on the first turbine. The aim is to train Afghan craftsmen to build them from scratch, using locally sourced materials. The turbines will initially provide electricity to schools and clinics, & then to individual homes. Most of these buildings outside the city are without electricity and it is hoped that the newly lit schools may lead to night classes in literacy and skills training.