Rowrung primary school in Afghan Wakhan needs help

Asad Wakhi, an Afghan young man, introduces a project about a primary school, 1 to 3 level. It needs support in one of the coldest places of Afghanistan. The activist transmitted us pictures that he took during last week of October 2021 and answered our questions. In this article, we will try to stay factual. Though, what is reported cannot leave us indifferent.

The school

The primary school , at an altitude close to 2,850m, is in Rowrung ( also spelled “Rawrung”). The very geographical location was identified thanks to the help of Greg Mortenson (“Three cups of tea” author and founder of Central Asia Institute). He sent us a personal map.

Afghan Wakhan villages, courtesy of M. Greg Mortenson

Rowrung is not shown on any Google search result. It is in Upper Wakhan at 40 km from Qalah e Panja. It is located on the “road” leading to Sarhad e Brogil, 60 km farther east (this last village is where starts the Afghan Little Pamir ending at the Chinese border). The school is a governmental one. It operates only for the period going from March to October. It is open in the morning between 8:00 AM and 12:00 (Noon). This schedule allows kids to come and to go back, by foot, via mountain trails with daylight. Asad Wakhi says, the building comprises two classrooms. It has no windows, no doors (though, at least one can be seen on a picture), no electricity, no toilets. There might be some running water.

"Windows" but no glass, last week of October 2021, photo Asad Wakhi — “Windows” but no glass, October 2021, photo Asad Wakhi

The equipment consists of basic wooden boards and basic wooden chairs.

Inside a classroom, extremly poor furnitures and equipment, last week of October 2021, photo Asad Wakhi — Inside a classroom, extremly poor furnitures and equipment, October 2021, photo Asad Wakhi

The students

The students are 7, 8 and 9 years old. Their number is around 50. There are some 30 boys and 20 girls. They need an average time of 40 minutes to join the school from their home. On the pictures there are only 13 kids because it was too cold and there was too much snow, this day, for those living remotely. They could not join the class.

The teacher

There is one teacher for the two classes. He is not from Wakhan. He comes from Shugnan district, in the northeastern corner of Afghanistan. He has no home in Wakhan. He spends the night in the house of villagers shifting regularly from one place to another one. The teacher is supposed to receive 7,000 Afghanis per month. This is equal to USD 77. But, no salaries are paid since Taliban came into power. Asad could not answer us about how this man can sustain his livelihood.

Between Qalah e Panja and Sarhad e Broghil on the day the school was visited, last week of October 2021

The improvement project

Asad Wakhi and some other young people of the valley recently launched an NGO for helping local people. It is called CNHHAO (Corridor Natural Habitat Humanitarian Assistance Organization). Their first projet will be the improvement of Rowrung primary school:

add a third classroom
add a little office
add toilets
install windows and doors
build a wall around the schoolyard.

No heating and no stoves are planned. Electricity, not available in Wakhan corridor, will not be installed. School operates during daylight. The construction work should be handled by local workers and artisans.

The online information

CNHHAO will design a small website to introduce itself, its mission and its team. The school project will be presented with more developments. A precise budget, detailed by tasks and items, will also be available. This document is still to be prepared. The procedure for donation will be explained. A “News” section will keep the donators informed about the completion status of the project.