I am Bibi Shazia Safi from DA Suki village, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. As a teacher and UNHCR/WHO volunteer, I saw 60% of children aged 3-8 have no kindergarten because of war and poverty. Girls are most affected. Schools are far, families are poor, mothers are illiterate.
I created Kunar Home Circles because education must not wait for buildings. We already have strong mothers and empty rooms in homes. If we train local women, we can bring school into homes, in Pashto, for free, safe for girls. This protects early childhood years which are critical for brain development and keeps girls learning before they are forced to drop out.
We select 10 trusted local women and train them for 14 days in early childhood education, storytelling, hygiene, and child protection. Each woman runs a Home Circle in her own house.
Each circle has 10 children aged 3-8, 70% girls, for 2 hours daily, 5 days a week. We use local materials: stones, sticks, handmade books, games, and songs in Pashto. No fees for families. Cost is only $5 per child per month for materials and small stipend for the teacher.
In our pilot in DA Suki, we reached 100 children in 10 homes. Mothers join once a week. Children learn literacy, numeracy, hygiene, and confidence. The model is low-cost, women-led, and can be copied in any war-affected village without needing a school building.
Started in 2023 in DA Suki village with 2 home circles and 20 children. By community trust and word-of-mouth, it grew to 10 circles and 100 children in 2024, without advertising.
Mothers saw results: girls speaking Pashto stories, counting, washing hands. Local elders supported. We shared our simple training guide with women in nearby villages in Asadabad. Cost is low, so families copy it themselves.
Now we have requests from 3 more villages in Kunar to start circles. Spread is organic, women-to-women, not top-down.
Initially we only taught letters. After feedback from mothers, we added:
1. Hygiene and health lessons (handwashing, clean water) from my WHO experience.
2. Trauma-informed storytelling to help war-affected children feel safe.
3. Mother participation day every Thursday to build trust and teach mothers how to continue learning at home.
We also changed materials from printed books to handmade local toys and stones because printed books were expensive and not available.
1. Identify 5-10 trusted local women/mothers who can read basic Pashto/Dari.
2. Find 5-10 homes willing to host 10 children for 2 hours daily.
3. Use our 14-day training guide: early childhood basics, games, hygiene, protection.
4. Start with local low-cost materials - no building needed.
5. Keep group small (10 children), 70% girls, free for poorest families.
6. Involve elders and mothers from day 1 for safety and trust.
I can share our training manual, daily schedule, and material list for free. Contact me and I will guide you online or in person in Kunar.
