A Safe Ride to School for Girls in Afghanistan - The Hunger Site
The Hunger Site - GreaterGood - January 03, 2017
The Safe Ride to School for Afghan Girls Program was created in response to an attack on female students and teachers in the Kandahar Province. In 2008, men on motorcycles sprayed acid into the faces of teachers and students walking to school, targeting girls wearing school uniforms. Donors rallied and purchased a school bus so this would never happen again. Since 2009, the bus program has provided safe passage for the 100 girls living farthest from Mirwais Mena School for Girls.
After years of use, the school bus started breaking down. Without this program, many of these girls would be forced to drop out of school. But thanks to our generous donors, this did not happen. We are pleased to announce that we have raised enough money to purchase two new buses! Funds used to purchase the buses were matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor.
But we're not done. Keeping these buses running is costly. Funding is needed to help pay for the bus drivers, fuel and on-going maintenance. With your support, we can continue to provide safe passage to school for girls in Afghanistan.
An 11th grade student named Sadia at the Mirwais Mena School sums it up perfectly: "Education is like a light; you can see the path you are going on in the dark. If you don't have an education, you are blind, and you will not see things clearly. The bus project is extraordinary. It helps to take girls safely to school and get them back home safely."
Bus Update from the Field
In August 2016 GreaterGood helped purchase an additional bus for the Mirwais Mena School in Kandahar, Afghanistan. We now have 2 fully functioning buses, that safely transport 100 girls to and from school, daily. The school is immensely grateful as these are the only running buses to and from the Mirwais Mena School in Kandahar City, Afghanistan.
Shamsia Hussaini This is Shamsia. Eight years ago, as she walked to school outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan, she and several others were attacked with acid by the taliban on their way to school. What was their crime? Going to school. Nearly a decade later, she is still suffering from the attack, as her eyes still spontaneously tear up and itch, but her passion for education keeps her going. Those attacks were the inspiration for the Safe Ride to School Program. Now, Shamsia is a teacher at the school and added that in past years 200 girls left school due to the lack of transportation. She sends her gratitude for the continued safety she and her students experience on their ride to school.
GROW (Girls' Right to Opportunity Worldwide) in partnership with GreaterGood.org, Dream Weaver Foundation and The Literacy Site™ is dedicated to improving girls' well being by supporting and monitoring innovative projects that identify and remove barriers to girls' education across the globe.