The villagers in Bargar need a school for the kids in the area. So far, the children were taught outside or in a tiny private house. We decided to support them and help pay the construction workers. This project will support education, it creates employment during a severe economic crisis and improves local infrastructure. The construction relies on traditional techniques and uses local sustainable materials.
Laying the foundations
July 1st, 2022
The school is built on a steep hillside. It consists of 6 classrooms with windows facing towards the valley and a hallway that is dug into the hillside. Here you can see the foundations of the classrooms.
Notifying local authorities
July 21st, 2022
Naim travelled to the provincial capital Nili to inform local authorities of the school building project. Unfortunately, the local education authorities have no budget to support school construction at the moment.
Construction is progressing
July 25th, 2022
Here you can see village elders inspecting the construction site. They have started digging out the space that will be needed for the hallway and finished the foundations for the classrooms.
Paying workers
August 1st, 2022
Four workers are building the school. In total, the workers were promised three tranches of 86000 Afghani, one at the start of the project, one halfway in and the final tranche will be paid out once everything is complete. The first tranche was paid by the village elders – however not in full. Darya covered the remaining 38500 Afghani and the second tranche. When the workers were paid, the village elders were present to serve as witnesses. In addition, the workers signed confirmation forms and we received video recordings of the process.
Building the walls
August 2022
The outer walls are built of stone while the inner walls between the classrooms are made of a mud and clay mixture. The picture on the right shows the walls in the beginning of August, whereas the two pictures below show the progress made by mid-August.
The ceiling
September 2022
The ceiling is made of wood. A few large logs are worked into the walls and they carry smaller logs which again carry wood branches.
Windows and Doors
September/October 2022
The school will have steel doors for the hallway, wooden doors for the classrooms and large windows for the classrooms. On the right, you can see one of the steel doors. Below is a close up view of one of the windows, already with paint and the window grille in place. Naim already bought the window glasses, but they will be put in only once everything else is ready.
Applying plaster
October 2022
To make the walls water proof, they are covered in plaster made from cements. The roof is covered in one layer of mud, a plastic foil to make it water proof and a second layer of mud and clay.
The basic structure is nearly done
Some work is still left to do. Toilets need to be built and for the hallway, which is lit by openings in the roof, we need to install flap doors to protect against rain and snow. We have also ordered blackboards and carpets for the children to sit on.
These all are for your hardworking dear Fanny.
I wish we are able to do more about education site/line.