The Situation at Gawmurda

Gawmurda is one of the hamlets (qaria) of Qara Bagh. Its entire population is around 3’000 people. Like Nai Qala and Sada, it is in a very remote area, situated at 2’500 meters above sea-level, dominated by mountainous terrain, with no established road connections, extremely isolated, accessible only on foot or donkey/horse-back, virtually cut off from the world during the long winter season, when temperatures regularly drop to - 20 degrees centigrade.

Lessons in Gawmurda take place in a wide open mountainous plateau and in half collapsed tents. In 2003, the "school" was formally registered by the Ministry of Education under the name of "Bilal Emlak". It hosts around 400 pupils, 200 of them boys and 200 girls. There are 8 teachers, 6 men and 2 women.

The children come from eight different neighbouring hamlets and walk on average 4 to 5 kilometres to reach the school. Some pupils come from even further away and stay with host families during the school year.

The ministry of education has in recent years begun a national program of restoration and reconstruction of schools. It has set its priorities on the big towns and urban centres. Gawmurda therefore cannot expect any construction support in the ten years to come.

This school at present receives the following support from the Ministry of Education:

Books
Planning - methodology
Salary for the teachers (about 10$ per month)
Special delegates and representatives from the ministry of education and from the educational office in Ghazni and from Qara Bagh occasionally come and inspect the school.

The authorities do not provide it with support in terms of stationary and other school material.

Our Project

Our project is to build an entirely new school in the village of Gawmurda. The main objective with this project is to significantly raise the motivation and self-respect of the children, as well as that of their teachers, bringing a positive impact on their lives, families and communities. The construction of the school will provide improved conditions of study for approximately 400 students, boys and girls.

Compared with the existing situation, the school will in particular allow an important number of girls to have better access to education, based on an instruction from the Ministry of Education fixing the number of class rooms at 8. This will allow sufficient space for girls and boys to study.

The financial project requirements include costs for building materials, equipment, transport and salaries for the daily workers, as well as covering administrative costs for the project team. The Gawmurda community has formally made a piece of land available for the school and will provide labour and general support. It will be in charge of the future maintenance of the school.

This project aims to be a model for the future development and a source of hope for the region. It has been discussed and is consistent with the objectives and plans of the department of Education of the Province of Ghazni and of the Ministry of Education in Kabul.

The total budget for the Gawmurda project amounts to approximately 244’000.- USD (around 268’500.- CHF).

The Nai Qala Association opted for Atimad Construction and Engineering Co to carry out the project. This is the company that carried out the first project in Nai Qala (2007/2008) and is currently implementing the second one in Sada (2009). The criteria for the choice were the company's experience and knowledge of the Qara Bagh region, the reliability and proven quality of past work carried out and the file presented for this project.

A copy of the technical project file is available upon request.