"Bettering the lives of girls and women doesn’t stop at classrooms to learn in and textbooks to study from"

In my first couple weeks with Sahar, I’ve been tasked with familiarizing myself with Sahar’s work. I’ve come to understand not only Sahar’s mission, but the importance and impact of the work being done. What has stood out to me most about the work so far, beyond educating girls in school, was the focus on educating the community and making an impact inside and outside of the classroom. The fact that the schools being built and refurbished are in partnership Afghan Ministry of Education (MOE), speaks a lot to Sahar’s approach. Providing the financial resources, taking the steps to fast track learning spaces for girls, and training female teachers to assist those girls, Sahar takes what I feel is the appropriate position when it comes to the fulfillment of these schools, allowing them to comply with their own government standards and be operated by the MOE. When it comes to Sahar, bettering the lives of girls and women doesn’t stop at classrooms to learn in and textbooks to study from. Sahar has piloted programs that encourage and support girls to understand their worth, including the Digital Literacy Program (DLP) and the Early Marriage Prevention Program (EMPP), allowing them to gain self esteem and the confidence to take on challenges; in turn, helping to prevent child marriages and supporting women for employment opportunities to support themselves (and their families) financially. I have spent these first weeks not only getting to know Sahar as an organization, but working on building Sahar’s reach on social media, as well as working on expanding and refining aspects of Sahar’s website. Already, I feel very excited and passionate about the work Sahar is doing, and am excited to be apart of the team this summer! I hope to support the incredible impact that Sahar has made so far, and the impact it will have in the near future, through my own skills and lens as a young adult and high school student.-Charlotte Gong, Intern