Creditinfo – working towards a better education in Afghanistan

Creditinfo has repeatedly donated to Waresa-e-Faqeer, a primary school for both girls and boys in the Kama District, Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan being operated by DARMAN (Development And Relief of Medical for Afghan Nation).  DARMAN also runs a much needed clinic for the poor in an outskirt of Kabul.

3DARMAN aims to develop the people of Afghanistan through culturally appropriate projects aimed at improving health, education, skills, and living conditions. The organisation was established the same year Creditinfo was established,  in 1997, in Pakistan by a group of medical professionals, engineers, educational specialists, and university professors. At that time, the majority of its members were refugees from Afghanistan.  They returned to their homeland in May 2002 with a desire to serve their fellow countrymen.  DARMAN is a registered Afghan NGO, a non-governmental organisation with  its central office  currently located in Karte Nao, in Kabul Province, Afghanistan.

DARMAN continually endeavours to seek out partners and international funding from organisations, like Creditinfo, to help with their projects, like the Waresa-e-Faqeer primary school.  Creditinfo are firm supporters of improving the education level of children, particularly in areas where access to education is difficult and in those countries where it works.

Mr. Reynir Grétarsson, CEO and owner of Creditinfo Group hf, advised ”After many years of terrible wars, Afghanistan and its people, with international assistance, can now rebuild their nation.  There are approximately 460 students at the Waresa-e-Faqeer primary school who rely on funding from organisations and companies like Creditinfo for their education.  We hope other organisations will be able to assist DARMAN to fund this and other projects to help the poor and war ravaged people of Afghanistan.”

4Dr. Toni Grosshauser, a dedicated  fundraiser for DARMAN  continued ”The school has been operating for 12 years.  In 2003, DARMAN received some funding from private donors for construction of a 3 classroom school building. Consequently, the school was built as a mud construction in the summer of 2003 and became functional in the same year with 254 students.   The funding agency at the time committed for 10 years up to 2012. Since 2013, this project has been funded by Creditinfo and Eurasia Gateway.  Creditinfo have recently donated monies to cover the general operational costs to the end of 2016. This donation from Creditinfo, enables the children to remain at the school.”

Dr. Toni Grosshauser continued, ”Personally, I have been involved with the Executive Director of DARMAN, Dr Naseem Ullah for many years, as he originally worked in the international NGO which I was leading. In the 90’s, we worked with Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Without the valuable assistance from organisations like Creditinfo, these projects would not continue to thrive.”

About Waresa-e-Faqeer School

6The school is located in the village of Waresa-e-Faqeer, in Kama District, in Nangarhar Province. The Waresa-e-Faqeer village is a rural area located at a distance of about 16 kilometers from Jalalabad city. Most residents of the village have returned back from Pakistan. Their houses and land are still damaged due to the war and ongoing conflict. The population of the village and surrounding area is about 33500.

Most are poor farmers. They cannot afford the cost of education materials like notebooks, pens and also uniforms for their children, therefore many parents do not send their children to school. Some of them prefer to provide education only to their sons, if they have to choose between a son and a daughter going to school. Consequently, the literacy rate for females is lower than for males.

5Without this school, access to education there would be difficult for boys and virtually impossible for girls. The governmental schools are at a distance of 7-8 kilometers from the village, which in this rural area is a long distance. There are security problems for children, particularly girls. The Taliban still yield power in the region and have often warned of acid attacks on faces. Public transportation is not available.

For more than 6 years under the Taliban’s Government, girls and female teachers were excluded from schools. Afghanistan has one of the lowest girls’ school enrollment rates in the world. However, now thousands of females have enrolled. But unfortunately, up to now gender imbalances remain due to Taliban and terrorist groups’ re-activation. There are many young girls and women who have not joined schools. Some had started school education, then had to stop because of the war and never completed their education.

Development and progress of a community or village depends on education of its population, so Warasa-e-Faqeer village and surrounding areas are demanding school education. They are eager to increase and improve their literacy level, in spite of hardship and severe poverty.

1 2For further information or to make a donation, please contact:

Creditinfo Group hf  •  tel.: +354 550 9600  •  info@creditinfo.com  •  www.creditinfo.com

DARMAN •  Contact:  Dr. Nasim Ullah, Executive Director, DARMAN  •  Tel: +93 700 288 784 / +93 787 146 525 • daman_ngo@yahoo.com

                                                                                                                                      Donor Relations: Dr. Toni Grosshauser •  mail@tgrosshauser.de