Project Accomplishments

• 8 villages in the Waras District have been selected for the Bamiyan School Project: Razak, Eg, Kunduk, Worzang, Petawqul, Wozdarghoon (Isteqlal), Dewan, and Jark. In total there are 2,036 students, of which 776 female and 1,260 are male.
• provided funds and facilitated the registration for two schools, Patewqul and Wozdarghoon for Girl’s classes with Ministry of Education in Kabul enabling volunteer teachers to be paid a government salary.
• ImagineAsia partnered with the Nooristan Foundation to fulfill NGO registration requirements.
• Donated 500 books to establish a library in the girls high school in Bamiyan
• Hired a teacher to conduct classes at a refugee center in Kabul
• Donated 20 boxes of books to the English department at Herat university
• Purchased desks for a boys school in the Jubulsarag district
• Provided training for English university professors
• Founded and support a small school for refugee children in West Kabul

Future Goals

• Provide stipends to ensure hiring of teachers and administrative staff.
• Provide funds for the necessary learning materials, supplies and furniture that will enable the schools to operate efficiently and to capacity- including computers for use by both teachers and students.
• Partner with NGO’s to build/rebuild schools in various provinces of Afghanistan starting with Bamiyan.
• Fund the training of a requisite number of teachers to implement an ongoing program of teacher training and assessment.
• Assist in the Introduce Pilot Programs in the fields of Peace, Education, Computer Literacy, Health Education, and Environmental Awareness.
• Provide for a medical clinic and doctor to visit schools monthly.

The city of Bamiyan was famed for centuries as a center of commerce and philosophy. Its position on the Silk Road between the Roman Empire and China brought throngs of travelers to this spectacular mountain valley. For centuries, it was especially renowned for its towering Buddhist statues, one of which was the tallest in the world. More recently, it became famous when these treasures were destroyed. In 2001, the Taliban toppled the two colossal Buddhas with dynamite and munitions, because they were “false idols” contrary to Islam. The statues, rare examples of Greco-Buddhist art, had survived the invasion of Genghis Khan in 1221 and inspired awe in millions of pilgrims, but international outcry could not stop the Taliban from reducing them to rubble. They were carved out of the mountainside in the 6th century A.D. and were once part of a thriving monastic community, with hundreds of Buddhist monks living in nearby caves and grottoes. When the Chinese traveler Hsuen Tsang saw the Buddhas in 632, he marveled at the huge painted figures, decorated with gold and precious gems, and declared them “dazzling to the eye.” The mindless destruction of the Buddhas marked a low point in crimes against art and antiquity.

Landscape

Bamiyan is located in central highlands of Afghanistan, in a majestic valley between the Hindu Kush and Kohe baba mountain ranges. At an altitude of over 8,000 feet, its winters are cold. Nearby, the five lakes of Band-e Amir are one of the country’s most beautiful natural wonders.

People and culture

This region, called the Hazarajat, is home to the Hazara ethnic minority, and Bamiyan is their cultural capital. As a minority, Hazaras have faced oppression and deprivation, and the Hazarajat region is one of the most underdeveloped in the country. As Shiites, the Hazaras are a religious minority as well; hence their allegiance was often directed toward Iran’s spiritual leaders rather than the Sunni Afghan authorities. Ethnically, they have Asiatic features and have a mixture of Mongol and Turkish roots. The Hazaras speak Farsi with their own special dialect, called Hazaragi.

The primary occupations in Bamiyan are the growing of potatoes and wheat, and herding sheep and goats. Literacy rates are low, especially among women. U.N. studies have found that nearly one-third of Hazarajat's children suffer from stunted growth. The caves which were once part of the ancient monastery are now makeshift homes for displaced people.

"The Hazaras were always economically weak and politically excluded," said Qasim Aghar, a Hazara intellectual and educator, as quoted in the Washington Post. "We were separated by religion and geography. No one ever even tried to build a road to Hazarajat."

The Hazaras were targeted for persecution by the Taliban because of their differences, as the Taliban were Pashtun and Sunni. Bamiyan resisted Taliban capture until 1998 (two years after Kabul fell). When the Taliban took control, many Hazaras fled to Iran.

The Buddhas were destroyed in 2001. Several months later, after the US invasion, the Taliban were driven out by the Hazara fighters of the Hezb-i-Wahdat faction. In the course of the fighting, Bamiyan was completely destroyed. At least three mass graves were discovered at this time, evidence of the Taliban's brutality and “ethnic cleansing.”