100 Classrooms for Afghanistan: Donations Still Needed
November 27, 2003Many people around the globe have already donated to the “100 classrooms for Afghanistan“ fundraising campaign. The dedication of DW-TV viewers, DW-RADIO listeners and DW-WORLD readers has been overwhelming.
For example, students and teachers at the German school of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo in Cairo organized a gala for its centennial and raised more than €1,000 ($1,190). BFE, a Germany-based company that builds recording studios for Deutsche Welle, donated €10,000 (€11,900). The wife of Germany’s consul general in Los Angeles is organizing a benefit event for the campaign.
Many thanks to all who have donated. But there is still a ways to go to reach the goal of building 100 classrooms.
Since Deutsche Welle started the worldwide fundraising drive, its partner organization Cap Anamur has constructed 48 classrooms in Afghanistan. The six new schools each contain eight classrooms, teacher rooms and administration offices.
Erected in the towns of Novobod, Jamchi, Yanqiqala, Laclacond, Sardcomar and Baharak, each school took two to three months to construct. Between 30 and 40 students share one classroom, which is about 40 square meters (430 square feet) in size. About 300 students attend each school.
Clear guidelines for the construction of schools
Cap Anamur, a Cologne-based charity organization, has set clear school construction guidelines for local authorities:
- Both a boys and a girls school have to be constructed.
- The two schools have to share a patio.
- Teachers have to be paid directly by the municipal government.
This way, Deutsche Welle helps to improve Afghanistan’s education system. Girls and young women especially need this support as they could not attend schools during the Taliban regime.
Afghan children need more than just classrooms, however. That’s why Deutsche Welle will continue the donation campaign until mid-January and keep informing viewers, listeners and readers through news and feature stories from Afghanistan.
Please help to ensure a better life for the children in Afghanistan.