Escorted by four police officers – their last trip in the spring was not easy. And what awaits them on their next visit is uncertain. is she scared “I’ve experienced a few sticky situations,” admits Marga Flader. “But in order to understand the country, its people and their problems, you have to get a picture of it on site. Our people there also want the exchange.” For the past eight years, all the threads of the association “Afghanistan-schulen” (afghanistan-schulen.de) have come together with the 57-year-old paralegal. It is also she who keeps in touch with the staff in Kabul.
In 1998 she was caught by the “Afghanistan virus”, as she calls it. At that time she visited an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan with the founder of the association, Ursula Nölle. “When I saw the singing, happy children in the improvised school tent, I was ‘infected’,” she says and smiles. Since then, much has improved in the war-torn country in the Hindu Kush. But some schools still teach in four shifts under tarpaulins.So there is no shortage of future projects. Up to 100 construction workers work for “Afghanistan Schools”, as well as around 60 teachers and office workers. Most of them are in the north of the country, in Mazar-i-Sharif and Andkhoi near the border with Turkmenistan. In its own center, the association prepares prospective students for the university entrance exams. Women learn to read, write and sew in home courses, while men can do manual training.
In addition to donations, the association is supported with federal funds, and the ethics bank promotes women’s projects. Around one million euros flow into the region every year. Equally important is the commitment of the volunteers in Germany and the employees on site. Extensive reports that the club regularly has to write to the Afghan authorities consume a lot of time and nerves. “Everything is incredibly complicated there,” sums up Marga Flader. She still remembers the move of the Kabul club office well. Only wheelbarrows were available to move the cabinets to the new building. But somehow it always works.
Since 2007, the security situation in the Hindu Kush has steadily deteriorated. “Our regional director was also murdered that year,” recalls Marga Flader. Continuing the work undeterred was a major challenge. Above all , when she comes into contact with the students, she sees that her commitment is worthwhile : “They are ambitious, many of them want to study abroad. It’s great when I find out via Facebook that it worked. Or when young women can not only read and write after a course, but also appear much more self-confident.” What does she wish for in Afghanistan? “That investments are made in the country and new jobs are created. And that at some point our club will no longer be necessary.” She knows that she still has a long way to go.
