Village Library and Literacy Program

THANK YOU DONORS: Linda Norgrove Foundation, Rotary Club of Canmore, AB
and Bridge Street United Church Foundation

Partner: Residents from Six Villages
Project: Village Library and Literacy Program
Location: Six Villages North of Kabul "Dara Valley"
Canadian Donor Support: US$48,700 per annum (2011/12)

A new partnership has been initiated between the Linda Norgrove Foundation (UK) and Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan) to launch the Village Library and Literacy Program in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan, referred to as “Dara Valley,” for security reasons. The population of this valley is estimated at 10,000 and there are approximately 40 small villages scattered throughout the region, each with a population of between 300 and 1,000 people.

The  Linda Norgrove Foundation will provide $24,350 to match additional donations made by CW4WAfghan donors to fund the project, at an estimated total budget of $48,700 for the twelve month term ending March 2012.

              CW4WAfghan is pleased to acknowledge contributions to this project from the Rotary Club of Canmore, Alberta totalling $10,000, and the Bridge Street United Church Foundation of $3,000.

Literacy classes for women and girls have been requested by six communities in the valley due to the limited education options available to girls and women there. In addition to the literacy classes, small village resource libraries will be established to provide books for new readers, including the literacy students and their families.  A number of educational workshops are also being planned for women and girls on a variety of topics including nutrition, hygiene and health and horticulture. Literacy teachers from the area have also been trained in basic librarianship and reading promotion. The Afghan women and girls are extremely motivated to learn and want to be literate, often attempting to teach themselves to read. The male community members, including the village elders, are supportive of girls’ education in the Dara valley. In each of the six villages, the community has contributed to the initiative by providing a space for the literacy centre. 

The valley has a variety of beautiful plants and abundant fruit trees and natural ground springs. Its climate in the lower regions is temperate, however the small villages are fairly isolated from each other by the mountainous landscape and high altitude, particularly during the winter when there is heavy snowfall throughout the season. Most roads are unpaved, there is little infrastructure in the region and most households do not have electricity or running water. Basic services are limited and there are no known non-government organizations or international non-government organizations working in this area. There is a new government boys’ school in the district, however, no girls’ school is accessible to the valley. When CW4WAfghan began working in the first village of this valley in 2008, there was a 0% literacy rate among girls and women. That first village now as an estimated 45% female literacy rate.

CW4WAfghan Executive Director Janice Eisenhauer explains the impact of the project: “This initiative will impact approximately 250 Afghan women and girls over the next twelve months. There are an average of 25-55 female students registered per village, ranging in age from 8 to 45 years. In addition, an estimated 3,000 villagers will benefit from the library resources.”

The Linda Norgrove Foundation (www.lindanorgrovefoundation.org) was set up by Linda’s parents in memory of their daughter, a Scottish aid worker who was kidnapped and subsequently died during a failed rescue attempt in Afghanistan in October 2010. Linda was completely committed to her development work and loved Afghanistan and its people. The focus of the Foundation is to continue her work by supporting women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.

DAI, who was Linda’s employer in Afghanistan and who field almost 2,000 dedicated staff, the great majority of them Afghan nationals, supports the Foundation by assisting with the delivery and administration within the country. John Norgrove, Linda’s father, said ‘We are proud to be associated with the brilliant work that CW4WAfghan are doing in Afghanistan and to help to fund a project which will achieve lasting impact on the lives of so many in remote rural areas which are, in many ways, so similar to the Outer Hebrides where we are based.’

     CW4WAfghan’s Community Libraries & Book Development Program supports community, village and neighbourhood libraries to help reinforce literacy skills, nurture a culture of reading, and foster independent, lifelong learning. The libraries supported by CW4WAfghan are for women, men and youth and double as classrooms for literacy courses and as community spaces for meeting, information sharing and planning.  

Read more about the initial library HERE.

Also, see our Winter 09 Newsletter for 'stories from the field'.