New books delivered to library

A load of 60 new books, purchased with donations from North Georgia residents, was delivered in August to the library of the M. Agha village school for girls in Logar, Afghanistan.

The girls and teachers were enthralled by the books - some had never had hardcover books with color illustrations before.

The new library is fully furnished and in use. The plastic wrap is still on the chairs - a proud sign of their newness.

Last year's fundraisers saw the completion of the library with a solid roof, plastered walls, and hand-trimmed doors and windows, as well as paint inside and out. You can view 2009 photos of the school by clicking here.

The project was paid for by donations and individual purchases from the people of North Georgia and other Americans.

A fundraiser was held at Bears Oh My gift store in Big Canoe, Georgia, on Feb. 12 and 13. Despite the snow, more than $1,500 in Afghan goods were sold. Thanks to the generous support of store owner Barb Maslyk, ALL profits from this sale go directly to the school.

Sales of Afghan handmade products and pashmina shawls as well as donations earned money for the library project. To donate, purchase or bid, please see the Afghanistan galleries on this web site, or contact Lisa directly.

For more information, click here for the Baraka Foundation email.

Soap, oil and scarves by Arghand co-operative support a viable business in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. See the Arghand sitefor more information about this co-op.

Pashmina shawls and other textiles are produced by women working for Zardozi nonprofit co-operative in Kabul, Afghanistan. Some of the women are refugees in Pakistan. All patterns and techniques are traditional; some products use these designs in new ways. See the Zardozi site for details.

See the Afghanistan galleries to purchase Afghan products or make donations.

About M. Agha School for girls, Logar Province, Afghanistan

In the summer of 2003, Lisa Schnellinger was supervising a workshop in basic journalism skills for new reporters in Logar, a province southeast of Kabul. She recalls, “We arrived early that morning to learn that a small school had been attacked overnight by an opponent of education for girls. So our workshop focus became covering this news story. The trainers and I went with the group of reporters to the humble dirt compound, next to the home of the principal and founder, and saw a heart-rending sight: dozens of sad little girls, some weeping, looking at the burned desks and cracked chalkboards where they’d been excitedly learning the day before.

“One girl, who was about six, said, ‘I just want to be a doctor when I grow up. Why would someone burn down my school?’ Their mothers and sisters, who had been denied an education under the Taliban regime, also mourned the loss of the school. But the principal was undeterred: The school would go on, and no threats would stop them. I was very moved by the strong determination of people in the village, especially the little girls. So, with the help of staff members who had relatives in the village, I began to look for ways to assist them as they built a new school.”

On a donated plot of land, set high up, the principal built the new school. Lisa’s family members helped villagers to pay for the initial construction of the school, and Japanese foreign aid funds later paid the rest. The school has about 600 students, many of whom walk 4 to 6 kilometers each way to attend. The teachers are paid about $100 a month.

Currently Lisa is raising money to furnish the school’s library with bookshelves, desks and chairs.

In addition to serving as a resource room and extra classroom space, the library would provide a community space suitable for the women of the village to hold programs. There are grants and services available for women’s literacy and vocational training, but the village has no space where women feel safe to gather for this type of program. A finished library would allow the women to make up for the education they missed as a result of the civil war and the Taliban prohibition on schooling for females.