How you can help Razia Jan educate the girls of Afghanistan.
Until recently, if you walked into the Zabuli Education Center in the rural district of Deh'Subz outside of Kabul, you would have seen bustling classes from kindergarten through the twelfth grade, full of girls who were attending free of charge. The school was the brainchild of Razia Jan, an Afghan-American entrepreneur and the founder of the Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation. Founded in 2008, Jan's school now educates nearly 800 impoverished girls every year. Over time, it's also changed attitudes in the community about the value of educating girls, especially among men who went from skepticism and even hostility toward the school to bragging about its graduates. "From the day I opened the doors of the Zabuli Education Center, my effort was and is to provide security and the best education for these girls," she said when she was named one of CNN's Heroes of the Year. "With hard work, I have proven to the men of seven villages surrounding the school that this is the best thing that’s happened for their daughters." Continue reading Continue reading