Originally posted on the GHNI website

A few years ago collecting clean water was and arduous journey for the girls and women of Sheldon Village. Since they installed piping from a mountain spring into their village, they have plenty of water and their girls have time to go to school! The team in Afghanistan are please to share how the villagers are working hard, alongside the government, to start a school here, too.

*Sheldon Village, Afghanistan

“Although progress with building the school has been slower than we would have hoped, we have seen progress made and we hope the final stages will be complete soon. A recent visit to the remote region, where families are poor and schools are scarce or basic, reminded us of the importance of this project.

“We were pleased to see a school building nearing completion, complete with roof and even blackboards, although no windows as yet. At present we are encouraging the construction company to speed things up, and they are also preparing the chairs and desks.

“Whilst at the school site we also met with local children who will use the school once it is complete, as well as the school master. Though the project has taken time, and the process has been a challenging one, they are all excited for the school to be complete – at present they are using two rough rooms, without electricity, chairs or desks.

“In addition, we visited *O-Village, a tiny settlement of 70 families located about one hour away from the school project. That is, one hour of bumpy off-road driving along dried-up river beds through barren valleys and over fields with no roads. This was where GHNI built a water pipeline with the villagers in the past, bringing water from a mountain spring to the village. The elders there are extremely cooperative and have asked for more help with bringing water to the other side of the village. We hope we can help them to install the necessary pipeline later this year.”

*For purposes of security and well-being, “Sheldon Village” and “O Village” are pseudonyms of the villages being helped by this project.