After AKF built the footbridge , local villages on both sides of the river came together and asked CAI ’ s Wakhan manager , the late Sarfraz Khan , for help with a school .
Today , four years later , the villagers proudly pitch in to keep DeGhulaman School tidy and functional . They built a small house for the government-paid teachers who come from other villages and often supply food or share their meals . They planted trees in the schoolyard .
“ People think that education is something to help develop the country and get out of poverty and get out of this bad situation so everyone is eager to send their children to school ,” said Headmaster Raja Bali .
j 10 : 30 a . m . i
Gul Bahar and the other children from Rurung are joined by students from other villages as they make the 90-minute walk to school .
they ’ ve walked fast enough , have a little time to socialize or blow off steam with a game of volleyball before the bell rings .
j 7 : 30 a . m . i
SIX DAYS A WEEK , classes begin at 7.30 a . m .; there is no school on Friday , the Islamic holy day .
On this day , Gul Bahar takes a desk in the back row , by the window . Despite her one lazy eye , she says she can see the board clearly .
Her parents were worried she would have vision problems , Darwaish said . But it ’ s not been a problem . “ I have no pain ,” the eighthgrader said . “ My vision is good .”
It ’ s hard to know for sure , however . There are no eye doctors or pediatricians in the Wakhan and most teachers don ’ t have the basic skills to administer vision tests . And even if it did bother her , there ’ s no telling whether she ’ d admit it . Gul Bahar is a happy child . She laughs easily , like her father . And she rarely complains about anything , including having to stay at home for two years to help her mother when her twin sister started school .
Gul Bahar ’ s favorite subject is Dari , Afghanistan ’ s national language , she said . “ The Dari and math teachers are the best . I like both subjects .”
Rurung students had a rocky start , Darwaish said . CAI built DeGhulaman School in 2010 . “ Before that , Rurung children study in tents and then we made some rooms for them . They had a teacher from Khandud to class four , but they didn ’ t learn anything and whoever studied with that teacher fell way behind . It wasn ’ t as bad with my son because he had a different teacher here to class three .”
CAI IN THE WAKHAN-PAMIR
� Number of schools built :
21
LITTLE PAMIR : Bozoi Gumbaz
WAKHAN : Wark , Shkhawr , Pigish , Khandud , Pikui , Kali-Panj , Goz Khun ( not in use ), Sust , Kipkut , Karat / Baba Tangi , DeGhulaman , Sheshp , Potokh / Chilkent , Sarhad
ISHKASHIM : Ishkashim Girls ’ Higher Secondary School , Kharmani , Khushpak , Bazghir , Khunkhot , Sykomal
� Healthcare : Two maternal health workers ( Wargeant and Sarhad )
� Women ’ s vocational centers : Wakhan : Wargeant , Khandud , Pikui , Karat / Baba Tangi
Ishkashim : Oin Ghardi , Skekeg
DARI LESSONS COME MIDMORNING . Even though Gul Bahar likes studying Dari , her dad said the girls never become proficient speakers .
“ In the school , the textbooks are in Dari but unfortunately they speak Wakhi in class ,” he said , referring to the local language . “ So they are just learning Dari , but they don ’ t understand how to speak it .”
Boys have a social and cultural advantage when it comes to mastering the national language . Darwaish learned to speak Dari by talking with traders , many of who are not from the Wakhan .
“ Boys learn more because they can come in the room when there are guests , bring food and talk with the people and the traders ,” he said .
Headmaster Bali acknowledged the teachers ’ and students ’ tendency to revert to their local language . “ We have a rule set not to speak Wakhi in school , just to speak Dari . But the students and teachers , they still slip into Wakhi ,” he said .
Wali Mahmad , a local leader who used to be a healthworker with Operation Mercy , said the students ’ Dari skills are still light-years better than their parents ’. Progress must be measured relative to the situation .
“ Twenty years back no one here could even read a letter ,” he said . “ They had to go to Baba Tengi to get someone to read a letter from the war . We are changing , but it is slow .”
Enrollment at DeGhulaman stands at 151 students , including 73 girls . But that number is high , conceded teacher Dawlat Shah . Attendance on this day was 123 .
“ Some students join school , but then their families need them to look after sheep and do home chores , so they are not in school but
32 | Journey of Hope C E N T R A L A S I A I N S T I T U T E