Afghan man converts his home into school for children

The 29 year-old pays teachers' salaries and provides stationery to students at the only school in his village

KABUL:

An Afghan citizen has turned his home into a school in a southern province of Afghanistan after all village schools were destroyed during the 20-year war, which ended with the complete withdrawal of US forces from the country in August last year.

Najibullah Ishaq, 29, of Tulakan village, about 40 kilometres (24 miles) from the Kandahar city, the capital of the same-named province, volunteered to help children with their studies.

Children in the war-torn country have a very tiny possibility to attend school and get an education due to decades of armed conflict, political crises, and now depressing economic conditions.

According to the report published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in January, 7.9 million school-age children in Afghanistan face great difficulties in accessing educational opportunities.

Afghan volunteers across the country are taking responsibility for children's access to educational opportunities, and Ishaq is one of them, who has converted his home into a school because there are no buildings available to educate local children.

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Ishaq, who runs an advertising business for a living and has three children, also pays the salary of teachers who come to the village every day to educate children.

He also provides stationery like notebooks and pencils to the children.

The school currently has 50 students enrolled, studying on the floor.

Ishaq told Anadolu Agency that if his financial means improve, he will improve the condition of the school as well. He also expressed his desire to establish schools in his village that provide education from elementary to high school.

The students come to school six days a week, from Saturday to Thursday, and they are quick learners, he added.

“I am confident that there will be individuals among them who will do great things in the future," Ishaq stressed.