The Afghan School Project

There are a number of ongoing developments with the project, but with our intended opening date coming up within the next month or two, many of our present goals are currently awaiting approval. We’re very pleased with how far the project has progressed in such a short period of time, but it will still be a little while before we’re able to describe our operations in greater detail. In the mean time, we’ll discuss some of the Afghan School Project’s long term goals.

Perhaps the most important long term goal is for this project to receive official charity status in Canada. Support to Ehsan’s school in Kandahar was originally intended to be a one-time donation, but the more that we learned about the school, the teachers and the students working there, the more we wanted to ensure that our efforts had a lasting impact. By obtaining registered charity status, the Afghan School Project will be able to provide tax-deductable receipts for donors, and will be better able to qualify for government, charitable and private sector grants to support our operations.

As the project proceeds, we also hope to improve our presence on the Internet. One of the ways that we intend to accomplish this is to establish a forum where people from around the world can discuss issues regarding education, development and current events. This will allow our readers to receive first-hand accounts of the challenges and benefits that accompany this project, and for the students and teachers working on the project to pose questions and receive whatever support we can offer.

Once the school has opened its doors to the students, we also hope to raise public awareness of the project by actively promoting the Afghan School Project in the media, and to other interested organizations. Although there has been a great deal of publicity regarding events in Afghanistan, small-scale grassroots initiatives such as this do not always receive media attention. We feel that it’s important for people to realize that they don’t have to make a big donation to make a big difference.

Finally, we intend to expand and improve the program wherever possible. Potential improvements may include improved course selection for the students, developing partnerships with additional Canadian schools, focussing the curriculum to better meet the needs of the students and their communities, establishing additional schools and expanding the program to allow a greater number of students to benefit from this project. By starting the Afghan School Project with a relatively small pilot project, we’re able to rapidly adapt during the initial phase of our operations. Even the best of plans, once applied, may require some adjustment. By staying small to start, we can ensure the costs of these adjustments are as low as possible.

Although there is a great deal of ground to cover before we can accomplish all of these goals, these long-term objectives will sustain this project by helping to provide additional support, resources, and the means to conduct our operations with increased effectiveness. The teachers and students of the school in Kandahar risk their lives everyday in order to change the world around them. While they are incredibly grateful for whatever assistance we can provide, their courage and sacrifice deserves the best possible support that we can offer.