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Sahar celebrates International Youth Day – August 12th, 2017!

International Youth Day (IYD) is every year on August 12th. It is an awareness day designated by the United Nations. The purpose of the day is to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. Despite the fact that they are among the most affected by the multiple and often interlinked forms of violence, youth also play active roles as agents of positive change.

The theme for this year’s International Youth Day is “Youth Building Peace.” Since the adoption of the Security Council Resolution in 2015, there is growing recognition that as agents of change, young people’s inclusion in the peace and security agenda and in society more broadly, is key to building and sustaining peace. Another Security Council Resolution in 2016 reaffirms the important role youth can play in deterring and resolving conflicts, and are key constituents in ensuring the success of both peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.

Here at Sahar we acknowledge and support the power of the youth. Through our computer centers, teacher training centers, and early marriage prevention program, we actively empower youth to become the future leaders of tomorrow.

How are you celebrating International Youth Day? Join the conversation using the hashtags #YouthDay and #Youth4Peace.

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“What does Sahar mean to me?” – Nina Boe

I can’t recall the first time Afghanistan came onto my radar, but like many young adults in the United States, I recall U.S. military intervention in the region. As I grew older, I realized how ironic it was – Afghanistan remained mostly a military topic for many Americans for years, and that narrative dominated our consciousness and awareness of the country. It was only later that I learned of the improvements and developments, strides that Afghans and others were making in the country despite ongoing conflict and security issues.

I grew up in diverse public schools in Seattle, later attending community college and the University of Washington. Every person I met shared some small piece of a story, making me want to learn more. Classes tied in international issues and conflict–but I kept asking questions that we didn’t study. What happened after wars were over? What does it mean to pick up the pieces of life and society when those pieces are so broken and scattered, and some people were denied any piece to begin with? Just when I felt I was gaining traction in an area, I’d encounter a question or story that forced me to peel back another layer of my knowledge: where do women and girls fit into this picture? Where does education fit? Digging deeper, I learned how conflict and lack of educational opportunities disproportionately affects women, negatively affects families and communities, and hinders community growth and development.

My international interests began in southeastern Europe, migrating across the Middle East and into south Asia. I gravitated towards languages – for pleasure, communicating, and connecting with new people. After returning to Seattle from two years abroad, I bumped into a job posting from an organization called Sahar. I could tell it was a Persian word, and wondered, “what do they do?” A year later, I bumped into Executive Director Ginna Brelsford and then Sahar Fellow Airokhsh Faiz Qaisary, and resolved to stay in touch. Another year later I came across an internship posting with Sahar, and immediately contacted Ginna to learn more. I am excited to use skills I am learning and honing in my degree work – to be able to ask the questions I’ve always wanted to ask, but also be able to start unpacking the process of how do we work towards answering them. I am honored to support such an incredible organization, and look forward to learning and sharing even more!

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Welcome, Nina Boe!

Nina Boe has joined Sahar for the 2017 summer as our Senior International Research Intern. As a University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy & Governance Graduate Student, Nina is assisting us with our monitoring and evaluation systems development and authoring an Impact Report for Sahar. As a seasoned non profit volunteer and avid linguist, Nina has already demonstrated a special talent for applying her coursework in statistics with impact data Sahar gathers in the field in Afghanistan.

Nina is very involved in the Seattle community and beyond, serving on the board of directors for two non profits, including Kids4Peace. Nina is also a talented photographer. Keep an eye out for her blog posts where she will update us on her work, why she’s passionate about non-profits, and what empowering young Afghan girls means to her.

Welcome to the team, Nina!

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Youth Initiative: Why We Should Support Young Leaders

By Ruth Yohannes (Sahar Intern)

Capacity building and development is a process by which organizations such as Sahar help communities improve their skills and knowledge needed to sustain themselves. In education, this task consists of training teachers, strengthening schools’ management system and beyond.

Created by Ruth Yohannes.

An important aspect of capacity building is to recognize and empower leaders within the community. In fact, relying on leaders creates a ripple effect, and each of Sahar’s initiatives impacts the community in a different ways. For instance, Sahar’s early marriage prevention program encourages students to start conversations with their peers and family on child marriage. Equipped with critical thinking tools, they are able create their own spheres of influence where more and more individuals become aware of the harmful effects of early marriage.

The same lens can be applied to the creation and strengthening of school shuras (managment). While the government might have limited outreach and influence in some regions outside of the cities, community-led management can close the gap. As trusted leaders in their communities, shura members are better placed to convince parents to send their girls to school. Similarly, increasing the number of female teachers has been proven to raise the female student enrolment rates, as they appear as role models to students and parents alike.

Empowering young leaders is one of the pillars of Sahar’s work. In the case of Afghanistan, policy change is already achieved; girls are legally guaranteed the right to education. However, rural regions often lag behind in reforms. This is where capacity development comes in. It ensures that the change the government is igniting eventually becomes a widely accepted norm. With the support of Sahar and their school shuras, young girls have the capacity to change their communities for the better.

 

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Culture of Education in Balkh Province: An Unique Example

By Ruth Yohannes (Sahar Intern)

Our previous blog post featured Balkh province, where Sahar concentrates its efforts. In addition to its unique history, Balkh continues to stand out for its approach to the Afghan school system’s main problem: female student enrollment. In fact, the province has one of highest female enrolment rates in the country, 48% as of 2014.

This success is in large part attributed to the shuras (school councils), that  have played an important role in rallying the community behind their efforts to provide a quality education for students. Shuras are the equivalent of PTAs here in the United States. They are composed of local elders, teachers and parents, who meet regularly to discuss the problems facing the school and potential solutions. In Ommolbilad girls’ High School, in Northern Balkh, parents helped renovated the school by gravelling the yard and planting trees in the compound. “Every month we have council meetings and have solved many problems by sharing them with the community”, said the school headmaster.

In addition, shuras are the ones who apply for development grants on behalf of their communities. They communicate their schools’ needs to the Ministry of Education and NGOs like Sahar, who provide them the resources necessary to strengthen them. Through their efforts, they have been able to raise the enrollment rates throughout the region. “Now, we all go out in the community and to the mosques to tell everybody to bring their boys and girls here. If they don’t, we encourage them until they do,” says Hussein Ali, a member of the local shura in Turabi girls’ High School. Parents may be reluctant to send their girls to school for many reasons, such as prejudice or safety concerns, but shuras facilitate communication with families and work to tackle misconceptions about education.

In the face of long standing obstacles to girls’ education, shuras offer a sustainable and proactive solution to those challenges. By involving the local communities in their children’s education, they set a strong precedent for the future generations of girls to go to school. Balkh province’s model of community engagement proves that school-community cooperation is an important factor for the return of Afghan girls in the education system.

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Building Local Capacity through Educational Opportunity: Seattle Foundation Panel

On Monday, May 22nd, 2017 Sahar Executive Director Ginna Brelsford participated on a panel hosted by the Seattle Foundation titled “Building Local Capacity through Educational Opportunity: Seattle nonprofits promoting educational opportunities abroad.”

Joined by Emer Dooley (Ashesi University, Ghana), Suzanne Sinegal McGill (Rwanda Girls Initiative, Rwanda), and John Brown (Brown Family Foundation & Pangea Giving, Latin America), the panel discussed their work in low-resource countries to provide educational opportunities for underserved communities.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Ed Taylor, Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs at the University of Washington, with over 40 attendees listening in and asking questions.

Thank you to the co-partners of the event, Seattle International Foundation and Global Washington, as well as all that attended. To stay up to date on all events Sahar, please join our newsletter!

 

 

 

Photo credit: Stephen Robinson

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