SCHOOLS PROMISE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 1 April 2008   |   Visit our website   |   How you can help
 
CONTENTS:

Afghan schools

School stories

Student stories

    
Contact a Schools Liaison Officer today:

schoolspromise@mahbobaspromise.org

PO Box 6234
North Ryde NSW 2113
T (02) 9887 1665
 schoolspromise@mahbobaspromise.org
www.mahbobaspromise.org

ABN 85 254 682 685
       
  Learning with Hope

Mahboba’s Promise is a voluntary not-for-profit non-government organization dedicated to restoring hope for the future to widows and orphans in Afghanistan. Our vision is a secure environment and a sustainable future for Afghan widows and orphans. During recent years Mahboba’s Promise has provided many orphaned children with food, clothing, basic medical care, training and education. Mahboba’s Promise has also created employment opportunities for Afghan women, many of whom are widows.

At the centre of the Schools Promise project are efforts to establish new schools and develop existing schools, to bring education and basic services to a new generation of young people. There are currently approximately 1500 girls and boys benefiting from the work of the Schools Promise project. This number is continually expanding.

How can Australian schools help?

Students and schools here in Australia have been involved in raising funds and donating resources to their fellow students in Afghan schools through Schools Promise. They have achieved this in a variety of ways: through special events and assemblies, through mufti days, stationery drives and staff collections. Funds raised have reached Afghanistan through personal contact by Mahboba’s offices in Sydney and in Kabul and have been used to buy such basic items as generators, shoes and stationery. The money is also used for hiring teachers and other ancillary staff.

As a Schools Promise member school, there is no pressure for a certain amount of money to be raised.

Schools can choose to commit to a longer term relationship, similar to that of a sister school, or they can contribute on a one-off basis. Many schools have already started and are seeing the benefits for their students here in Australia, as well as what is achieved for students in Afghanistan. Read the personal stories of some of these schools in this brochure.

Abdara Girls School in Panjshir Valley

What are the benefits for Australian students?

Participating schools have found that supporting a school in Afghanistan offers many benefits to the total curriculum. Ideally, the program is not additional to the school’s work; it is a strategy for achieving goals that already have full school commitment. There are strong links to values education, to building global citizenship and to social justice programs.

  • Students are assisted in appreciating the different lives of other young people in developing countries
  • The possibility of a longer term involvement with one school provides more scope for developing a sense of how funds are used at the destination point
  • Coordination of the project offers outstanding opportunities for student leadership development in public speaking, event management, team building and planning, monitoring, project management, communication etc
  • The project can help all students clarify their understanding of social justice issues
  • The project actively demonstrates ways in which young people can take action to follow through on their concerns
  • There are numerous curriculum links that can be used to extend the program into classrooms, for instance in English, social sciences and technology.

What can your school do?

For schools interested in participating in a one-off fundraiser or a similar, contact us to talk about any further information your school will need for promotion purposes. We will be glad to work with you no matter how small your contribution.
For schools interested in establishing a longer term relationship, we have found the following conditions helpful :

  • A priority within the school to develop citizenship in students in order to raise their awareness of the different circumstances of other young people
  • A strong student leadership program
  • A committed principal, and a core of interested staff

If you are interested in joining the program, contact us at schoolspromise@mahbobaspromise.org.au or phone (02) 9887 1665 to find out more.
An effective way to start might be for Mahboba Rawi or a member of her team to visit your school and show a video at a special assembly. These are usually attended by students, staff and when possible, parents.

One of our School Program Liaison Officers will be happy to talk with you and your staff and student representatives about the possibilities.

  

 
       
  Schools Peace Initiative

Mahboba’s Promise is proud to be associated with the Schools Peace Initiative coordinated by the Sydney Peace Foundation.

The Schools Peace Initiative aims to recognise the importance of engaging youth in the message of peace with justice and the practice of non-violence, and to acknowledge their efforts in achieving this within their schools and communities. In sponsoring this initiative, the Sydney Peace Foundation seeks to encourage and recognise the significant efforts of young people to foster an understanding of peace within their communities.

To find out more, visit the Sydney Peace Foundation web site www.sydneypeacefoundation.org.au 		 

 
       
  Abdara Girls School and Abdara Boys School Panjshir Valley

The Panjshir Valley area lies north of Kabul in the mountains of the Hindu Kush range. The region is isolated and has few schools or medical facilities. Abdara village lies up in a small valley among the dry jagged peaks typical of the area. In 2002 Mahboba’s Promise decided to build a school and medical centre in the Panjshir Valley so that the local community could have access to education and health facilities.
 

With the wonderful help and support of many individuals and organisations, the Abdara Girls’ Primary School and Abdara Medical Centre were built and opened in 2003 and are now well established.

There are over 250 girls enrolled in the girls school and over 1000 boys enrolled in a neighbouring boys school.

Landscaping

Originally the girls school opened early morning as it does in most countries but we found that because the Panjshir Valley is primarily an agricultural base, families needed the girls to help them in the fields. Agriculture is their main source of livelihood – there are no shops or stores in the Valley; all the crops are hand grown. We then changed the school hours to accommodate the community’s needs. The girls start their day at 5am to help tend the crops and fields and they attend school from 1pm-5pm. A longer day than the average school girl in Australia!

The students have been presented with gifts (such as scarves, bracelets, postcards,) by sister schools in Australia. Through this exchange they have built up strong bonds of peace and love and all schools involved show what can be achieved through friendship and harmony across nations. Through Australian schools’ kind contributions the girls have received uniforms, scarves, stationery, books, shoes and socks for the new educational year. The teachers’ salary is also paid through the sponsors’ donations.

The girls love to study and take full advantage of this opportunity to pursue affordable education. Offering a quality education is perhaps the most important factor in creating a successful future for generations that will have to cope with a rapidly changing environment.

Mahboba being welcomed by line of students

The work in the yard of the school is still progressing; with a surrounding wall and landscaping still needing to be built, hopefully by next year. The photos give some idea of the landscaping work in progress. The assembly hall is ready for students to use but needs carpet. A play area is important as the girls in Panjshir are not permitted to play outside of their houses. In winter they will be able to play in the hall and in summer they will be able to use their new netball court. Part of the assembly area will be converted into a library.

This year Panjshir Valley school has been recognised by Afghanistan Department of Education as one of the top schools in the area.

This has encouraged families to send even their 4 year olds for enrolment. 

We have 33 primary aged students enrolled this year. Building this one school in the village has changed the way of life of the girls and the mind-set of the community in viewing education of girls in a positive light.

Mahboba in the classroom
   
       
  Hope House

Hope House is a newly built community centre in a new area of Kabul, which houses widows and orphans and also cares for approximately 150 widows through outreach programs. The building now has a generator, providing not only power during the day but ensuring there is a light on all night. The one acre block of land will in the future have landscaping, vegetable garden and a permaculture program.

In Afghanistan, an orphan is someone who has no father. Some of the children at Hope House have no father or mother. The women and children are all from different parts of Afghanistan. They are learning to live and work in a cooperative atmosphere with widows helping with the management and housekeeping.

However, experience has shown that we cannot be reliant on the widows as they too are suffering from the deprivations of the last few years. Many are depressed and fearful. This means that we need to fund programs to help rehabilitate the widows and we need more staff to help the children so that they are not reliant for emotional support on their mothers who are currently recovering themselves.

The Hope House children still suffer the stigma of being orphans. Mahbobas Promise makes sure that they are well dressed and that they have the pens, pencils and notebooks they need for school. Many of the children are very bright. They are survivors – often they have been living by their wits and supporting their familes. Some children as young as 3 or 4years old were working in the streets selling chewing gum, plastic bags and water.

Hope House offers programs to help widows become self-sustaining. These programs include social skills, parenting, nutrition and also vocational and technical skills.

The school age children at Hope House are all going to the local Government School. Because many of them have never had the opportunity to go to school, they can be teenagers and yet have to sit in Class 1 with 5 year olds. However, because they have each other, even although they don’t like it, they try hard, because they know that education is important.

With the support of schools in Australia, all the children now learn tae kwondo, both boys and girls. They have a very good teacher and we hope they can soon compete in the championships in Kabul.

Mahboba’s Promise would like to provide Computer and English courses for the students and to train some of the older students to teach the younger ones.

   
       
  Other Afghan Schools

Jaghori School

Jaghori district in Ghazni Province is a highly populous area with a large number of students qualifying for places in university. Recently the well near the girls school, with about 1065 students, ran dry and the school had to close. Many girls tried to continue classes in makeshift tents.

Mahboba’s Promise, with the help of students from Pittwater High School, has repaired the well and the school has restarted. Students at this school are now learning English and training in computer software. In an exciting development, these students are now teaching other students in computer skills.

Badakshan

Badakshan in a Province in the north east of Afghanistan, an isolated area bordering Tajikistan. Mahboba’s Promise has recently built a school for boys and girls in Badakshan and repatriated a group of Badakshan boys from a refugee camp in Pakistan to continue their education at the new school.

The community have been involved in choosing the site for the school, which will be the first school in the area to offer education for girls. The land purchased is large enough to allow for another school to be built for older girls in the future. The school is starting with 500 enrolments.

  

 
       
  Asquith Girls HS

Asquith Girls High School in Sydney has a sister school relationship with Abdara Girls School in Panjshir Valley and has been supporting the school since 2003. Asquith has raised several thousand dollars through International Womens Day breakfasts, school mufti days and a staff City to Surf team. This money has been sent to Afghanistan to buy a generator, shoes and stationery. The school also bought a digital camera and underwear which was sent in a container in 2005. Every student at Asquith has signed a banner that was sent to Panjshir Valley and the school received banners and letters in return.

 At Asquith, student activities for Mahboba’s Promise are organised by the Student Leadership Coordinator, the Social Justice Team and student leaders.
Each year at Student Leadership Camp there is a session when students make gifts for their ‘sisters’ in Panjshir Valley. These gifts have included friendship bands, cards and photo albums and finger puppets.

The school’s International Womens Day Breakfast, run by staff and student leaders, has become an important event for the school to mark International Womens Day, to promote issues relevant to young women and to host an occasion for the local community to join in marking their support for the school and for Mahboba’s Promise. Student speakers address issues related to the theme and guests enjoy a simple breakfast. A handout with an update of progress in Mahboba’s schools and orphanages is provided.

These events help students gain a tangible sense of connection to Panjshir Valley and to participate in support for other young people in developing countries.

    
       
  Canterbury Girls High School

Canterbury Girls High School has supported Mahboba’s Promise since 2006. Canterbury Girls has a significant enrolment of young women who have moved to Australia to gain education in a safe environment. The importance of global citizenship and social justice programs is an important component of education at Canterbury Girls High School.
Year 12, 2006 donated $1500 from excess fundraising and this was presented to Mahboba at International Women’s Day lunch in 2007. As well the Interact Club has been fundraising with a gelato stall and other activities to make a second donation of $400.00 for 2007. Mahboba has spoken at the International Women’s Day function to ensure that all students gain awareness of this important organisation’s purpose. Canterbury Girls High School will continue to financially support the great work of Mahboba’s Promise in the years to come.

    
       
  Cheltenham Girls HS

Cheltenham Girls High School has an annual tradition: every winter the staff, students and parents get busy knitting ‘Cheltknits’ to donate to charity. In 2006, the school’s Social Justice Team decided Mahboba’s Promise should be the recipient of the beautifully handmade scarves and rugs, each one uniquely coloured and patterned, to be delivered to the children of Hope House orphanage in Kabul.
For Cheltenham Girls the exercise was about more than just giving practical assistance; it was also an opportunity to learn of the lives and culture of their ‘siblings’ in Afghanistan, and an expression the school community’s warmth and goodwill to their fellow-students on the other side of the world.

    
       
  Macarthur Girls HS

Macarthur Girls High School students, staff and community members worked together on a significant project to knit scarves for students at Panjshir Valley. Led by teacher Lynelle Sacilotto, the project resulted in over 250 magnificent handmade scarves being sent to Afghanistan for winter warmth. Every scarf was different and together they represented the thoughts and generosity of an entire school community.
The school has several Afghan students and the idea for the project started with a meeting of these and other interested students to hear about Mahboba’s schools and decide how their school could help. The scarves were boxed and presented to Mahboba at a school assembly, then the school principal arranged for transport of the boxes to Afghanistan.

   
       
  Muirfield HS

At Muirfield High School a Mother-Daughter Breakfast has been held for the past two years to raise awareness and funds for the work of Mahboba’s Promise.

Harmony Day celebrations also provided a way to progress student understanding of the plight of children in Afghanistan, with Mahboba Rawi as guest speaker in 2007. Funds raised from students and staff wearing orange on Harmony Day are also dedicated to Mahboba’s Promise

Muirfield HS Afghani students in traditional costume at the Harmony Day celebrations
   
       
  Strathfield Girls HS

Strathfield Girls High School sought to support Mahboba’s Promise for a number of reasons; to give the students an opportunity to support the education of girls in the third world, teaching them the importance of making a contribution to those that are less fortunate; giving them an understanding of the plight of women in Afghanistan and why it is important to support Mahboba’s Promise in order to help these women achieve greater autonomy.

Last year Strathfield Girls High School went about auditioning for and rehearsing a variety show performed for students during the last week of term. We have a particularly creative and talented student cohort and felt that a concert would give the girls the opportunity to perform whilst making a positive contribution to the empowerment women and children in Afghanistan. The performance required both staff and students to work co-operatively during lunchtimes and after school hours. We had a tremendous amount of support from the SRC in regards to fundraising for our sound system, as well as support from executive staff to ensure that the show ran smoothly. We were particularly excited to have Mahboba open the performance and speak to the girls regarding the situation in Afghanistan and to give them a clear understanding of how their financial contribution will make a personal difference to lives of individuals. Overall it was a fantastic experience and resolved the academic year on an extremely positive note.

    
       
  Waverley College

Geraldine Cullen, Social Justice Coordinator at Waverley College, read Mahboba’s book and was immediately inspired to help. She shared Mahboba’s story with students and together they decided to donate some funds from the 2006 Lenten appeal.

Home groups each raise funds through various projects including sausage sizzles, raffles, soccer tournaments and doughnut drives. The schools supports several different causes including more established organizations in Australia as well as emerging and urgent situations in disadvantaged countries. Waverley College is keen to include Mahboba’s Promise as part of future fundraising appeals.		    
       
  Loreto College SA
 
Loreto College, Marryatville (SA) changed their school shirts last year, and following a suggestion from a number of parents, decided to collect the old shirts that were being thrown out to donate to a school overseas. Subsequently, the school learned of Mahbobas Promise and were thrilled to be able to donate the shirts to an all girls’ school in the Panjshir Valley.
The school collected all the shirts and next came the hard task of finding a way of getting the shirts there and of raising money to send the shirts to Afghanistan! Through the donation of money by Junior School parents at their daughters’ school Christmas concerts and a generous donation from an anonymous Old Scholar, this was made possible. The shirts were sent to Mahbobas Promise in Afghanistan just before Christmas 2006.
Loreto College was thrilled to receive a number of photos recently depicting the shirts being worn by a number of schools, through the work of Mahbobas Promise..
   
       
  Students in Australian schools
 
Students in Australian schools have responded to Mahboba’s story through hearing her speak, reading her book or hearing about the work of other schools.

Student leaders have demonstrated their compassion and their interest in peace by their work with their peers and their school communities to support Mahboba’s schools. They have spoken at school assemblies, led fundraising and the creation of small gifts.

Three of these extraordinary young people are:
   
       
  Fabienne Trevere

Reports of war-ravaged Afghanistan were splashed across the media in 2005, and the plight of the country’s youth greatly concerned Fabienne Trevere and her peers at North Sydney Girls High School. Fabienne had read of the success a local school had in supporting Mahboba’s Promise, and decided to use the charity as a vehicle for her own school to make a positive contribution.

Then a student in year ten, Fabienne garnered support from a committee of interested students, including those from the student-run fundraising group, Shout! She wanted the school’s event to “get everyone involved and engaged…to be about more than just donating money”. What resulted was ‘Mahboba Week’, with different activities held each day. Students sold balloons and homemade marshmallows, held a jump-rope contest and a mufti-day, and created a banner of handprints to send to the children of Panjshir Valley Girls School. Fabienne’s initiative resulted in the school raising $5,000, which helped to finance the salary and the purchase of a car for a teacher at Panjshir Valley Girls School.

    
       
  Glenn Kembrey

Glenn was School Captain of Caringbah High School throughout 2006, and first learned of Mahboba Rawi when she spoke at a leadership conference at NSW State Parliament. He was impressed by the unique approach Mahboba takes to delivering aid, which he saw as direct, reliable, and effective. “I also liked that the program was about youth helping youth,” he says.
Following the Cronulla ‘race’ riots in 2005, Glenn wanted to promote awareness and understanding within his school community. On Harmony Day (March 21) the school held a mufti-day and Glenn helped organise a concert, with bands from schools across Sydney performing. They sold paper cut-outs to string across the walls of their hall, and had students place their painted handprint on a canvas as a sign of the school’s commitment to peace. The day was a big success, and Glenn says “it certainly made our school more harmonious”. Fundraising from the day, which was the combined effort of Caringbah Interact (a student-led fundraising group) and Caringbah High, totalled $2,500 and was donated to Mahboba’s Promise to assist with the building of Hope House orphanage.

    
       
  Laura Saleh

Laura was the 2007 school captain of Asquith Girls High School and has a keen interest in the work of Mahboba’s Promise. Laura values the connection that the students at Asquith have with their sister-school in Panjshir Valley; “they’re girls and we’re girls, and they want the same things we want…they want to be doctors and teachers, too” she says. Laura sees Mahboba’s Promise as an opportunity to create positive social change, and has found that her own understanding and awareness of the issues facing youth in Afghanistan has been shaped by her involvement in the cause.
In March 2007 Laura helped to organised an International Women’s Day Breakfast at her school. The morning’s theme was “Women: We’re In Great Shape” and featured students speaking about their difficulties and triumphs as women in the world today. Local schools and dignitaries were invited, as were students, staff and parents. In total $2,500 was donated to assist Panjshir Valley Girls School. Laura believes it is important for students to become involved in supporting causes they believe in: “you can’t expect everyone else to do it. Sometimes you have to be the one to step up and take charge”.

    
       
  Help Mahboba’s dream come true...

Your school can help students like these to learn to read and write…

 Join Mahboba’s Promise Schools Promise program
Make a difference

Your school could
  • raise funds for a single donation
  • become a ‘sister’ or ‘brother’ school and be more involved for a longer time

Students in Australian schools have already raised enough money to buy

  • stationery
  • generators
  • clothing

but we need more as the number of students we support increases and old items need replacing.

    
       
 

Mahboba’s Promise Inc ABN 85 254 682 685; PO Box 6234 North Ryde, NSW 2113
Mahboba’s Promise is a non-profit organisation that brings hope to orphans and widows ravaged by war

OUR THANKS TO ALL OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS AND DONORS WHO HELP MAHBOBA'S PROMISE TO CONTINUE ITS DEVELOPMENT WORK

   Contact a Schools Liaison Officer today:

schoolspromise@mahbobaspromise.org

PO Box 6234
North Ryde NSW 2113
T (02) 9887 1665
 schoolspromise@mahbobaspromise.org
www.mahbobaspromise.org

ABN 85 254 682 685
       

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