Photo Update: New Photos of Spring Construction
Imagine you’re a second-grade student in Tajikistan. It’s December and freezing, but your school is unheated. The cold concrete walls do little to trap the heat in, and there’s no floor, so the damp ground makes the room even more unbearable. Being in school makes you ill as your body struggles to keep warm.
Or maybe you’re a child in Pakistan. Your village had a school built 20 years ago, so you’re lucky to not be one of the 9.5 million primary-age students who don’t have access to education. But the number of children at your school has doubled, and your classroom is packed full. So, you join the dozens who sit in the hallway or stand outside to hear—but not see—the lesson.
Perhaps you’re an 11-year-old girl in Afghanistan, and you’ve just started getting your period. Your school has a primitive toilet, but it’s not private, so anyone can walk in, and there’s no water, so you have to bring your own to clean up. You’re too embarrassed and afraid, so you stay home and miss class every month.
Simple infrastructure projects—walls, floors, doors, and plumbing—are key for students to be safe and comfortable at school. This spring, our partners in Central Asia built new boundary walls for protection and started work on expanding and building new classrooms so students have the space to learn. Just as important are sanitary and private washrooms, where students have access to running water to clean themselves and a lockable door for their protection and ease.
The end of winter cleared impassable roads and allowed our Pakistani partner Central Asia Educational Trust to restart construction on five new washrooms, with plans for 10 more this year. Here are some photos of the most recent work:
Installing plumbing for washrooms at the primary school in Tijos, Pakistan
The washrooms are private and now have running water.
The new facility at Akbarya Girls’ School modernizes an unsanitary pit toilet
Modern tiled dividing walls and a lockable door provide privacy
The completed washroom, with separate boys’ and girls’ entrances, at Kamp-e Farm Hada, Afghanistan
This Spring, CAI donors helped install the most necessary elements for schools: constructing boundary walls for safety, building new classrooms to fit growing youth populations, and installing modern washrooms to keep students healthy and secure. Learn here how you can give students a comfortable place to learn so that they stay in school , or read more about the problem in our Spring 2018 Footsteps.
8 responses to “Photo Update: New Photos of Spring Construction”
Hurrah for all those who drank many cups of tea to plan such a practical
Project. for all the students. what are the plans for waste management?
I hope you can keep the rivers and drinking water wells clean.
Love the colors. Norma
Hi Norma,
Thank you for your shared enthusiasm about practical solutions for CAI students. Waste management plans will vary from site to site. However, engineers working on the project ensure the pits are dug sufficiently deep and are located away from ground water to avoid contamination. As pits fill up, arrangements are made for the waste to be transported away from the site to keep the washroom sanitary. Let us know if you have any other questions.
This is so wonderful! It is hard for us privileged Americans to imagine. Even when I was a grade school student in the 40’s, in a rural area, we had an out house with a door and a water pump in the yard.
It’s so good to hear good news and see the results of the hard and determination to keep girls in school! This is exactly why I have been a CAI donor for many years.
Assalamu alaikum.
In one of your photos it shows the toilet area as part of the boundary wall. It that wise? Should it not be located closer to the school and further away from prying eyes from the outside? Just a suggestion for future construction..
Hi John,
We’re glad you care as well about school safety. Boundary walls provide privacy and security for students so that they feel comfortable attending schools – as do modernized washrooms. For hygienic reasons, and for student comfort, toilets need to be located away from classroom areas. The full-length doors and enclosed washroom facilities ensure students using the restroom are not observed by passersby. If you have any other questions, send us an email at info@centralasiainstitute.org.
Every time i read one of your posts my mood goes up – such great initiatives taking place means that there is some hope for the world left yet!
Derek, notes like this lift our mood. We will do everything we can to continue spreading the hope! Thank you for your support and kind words.
Sincerely,
Hannah