Gloucester friends supporting the education of Afghan girls

IT WAS a dark day for Afghan women and girls when the Taliban poured into Kabul on 15 August 2021, with universities and high schools quickly closed to females in the aftermath of the government overthrow. 

More than 11,500 kilometres away, the unfolding scenes made a major impact on a group of friends in Gloucester.

Mayee Warren, a senior practitioner in the management of international criminal trials – whose career includes working for The International Criminal Court, the War Crimes Court for Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia – was one of those friends.

Mayee informed her friends of the work of Angela Ghayour – an Afghan educator who the BBC recognised as one of their Top 100 people for 2021 – in founding the Herat Online School for Afghan women and girls stripped of their right to an education by the Taliban.

The Gloucester friends, including Dominique Jacobs and Pat Burrows, recognised the need and asked how they could help.

Mayee explained that one way to help was to fund a humanitarian visa (which cost US $500), so that a young woman could continue her studies abroad.

To raise the money, the group decided on a market stall selling local produce including fruit, vegetables, honey, flowers, eggs, pickles and preserves, all of which were donated.

“We hoped to raise $575. We raised $3000,” Dom Jacobs told NOTA.

“We were so excited and happy with our success that later, when we were in the coffee shop, we asked Mayee what else we could do.”

Mayee informed them that the school needed more online teachers.

Four years later, online teachers like Dom are still contributing, helping students improve their English skills using resources available from Cambridge.

The Herat Online School is an initiative of UK-registered charity Afghan Education Action (AEA), which now incorporates the AEA International School formed in 2023.

Over 400 volunteer teachers and administrative staff around the world offer online classes with planned lessons and activities, taught in Persian, to around 820 students a day.

There are 84 subjects available via live or recorded lessons

For those students who seek admission to university or similar post secondary facilities, the school offers formal qualifications in English.

Dom described the students she has worked with as “brave, intelligent and resilient”.

“I don’t know how they still get up with hope in their heart,” she said.

“They get up and are thankful for what they do have.”

Lessons are delivered via encrypted apps on mobile phones, but inconsistent internet proves an ongoing challenge.

“And then there’s the danger,” Dom said.

“They have to be careful about what’s on their phone.

“But we can’t manage the danger. They have to.”

Student ‘M’ described her experience on the school’s website.

“The resurgence of the Taliban brought fear and uncertainty, casting a shadow over my dreams,” they said.

“It felt like everything I had hoped for was slipping away, leaving me feeling lost and hopeless.

“The weight of this despair was suffocating, and it seemed impossible to find a way forward.

“In the midst of my darkest moments, some of my friends introduced me to the Herat Online School.

“Within its virtual walls, I found a community of like-minded individuals who shared similar experiences and struggles.

“It was a space where judgement was replaced with compassion and support.

“This newfound understanding lifted the weight off my shoulders and allowed me to breathe.”

A fundraiser with a difference will be held on Saturday 30 May at the Uniting Church Hall in Cowper Street, Gloucester.

Three of Gloucester’s yoga teachers will guide participants through an all- levels flow.

This will be followed by a relaxed morning tea and an inspiring talk by Dom Jacobs.

The cost is $35 with all proceeds going to Afghan Education Action.

By Marilyn SANDERSON