Helping Afghan refugees: Government girls school gets aid

ISLAMABAD:

The Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative was inaugurated at the Government Girls High School in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

The initiative, funded by the UN in collaboration with the US Embassy, aims to benefit at least 1,850 local and Afghan students across Rawalpindi and Taxila.

However, the focus of the ceremony remained on crossing barriers and facilitating education for Afghan girls who make up the most vulnerable entity of the refugee community due to cultural and economic constraints.

Under the scheme, the government school, already associated with RAHA project since 2012, will be getting additional classrooms and latrines. The project also aims at conducting capacity building workshop for teachers and initiating an enrollment drive.

The school is currently enrolling 250 new students every year and the rehabilitation project aims to accommodate more students.

UNHCR’s Representative in Pakistan Indrika Ratwatte said the initiative aims at incorporating and enabling refugees to be a productive part of their adopted society.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, school principal Nighat Yasmeen said initially we managed to get only 15 students enrolled from the Afghan community in 2012, but now we have 75 enrolled in the school.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2015.