Tag Archives: organization

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The purchasing Committee

When toothbrushes are made for elephant jaws

We have been running a pre-primary education program for five years now, and since last year we have added a community class program to our portfolio of educational projects. In total, we have equipped around 100 classrooms with educational, recreational and hygiene materials.

Feedback from the teachers on the material used is essential.

At the beginning of each school year, we adjust and replace deteriorated and unusable material, and renew the children’s personal hygiene kits. The teachers inform the project coordinators of their observations on the material used during the school year. Some imported games, toys and stationery sometimes do not meet the expected quality standards: glue or pens that dry out too quickly, pencils that are too brittle, solid modelling clay, toys that do not survive a few days of use are all comments that alert us. 

Feedback from teachers about the inappropriate size of toothbrushes, pointing out that they were made for “elephant jaws”, also strongly challenged the way we shop, no longer content to blindly follow material lists from consortia involved in the distribution of educational programs.

Shopping tests worthy of the largest consumer organizations

Nai Qala’s hallmark is to promote quality educational programs with low-cost local solutions, which may not be realistic combined with products from well-known international brands. In order to ensure that it has the right equipment at the right price, Nai Qala has set up a system for testing equipment to complement its purchasing policy, which requires a comparison of prices from at least three suppliers. This spring, in preparation for the start of the new school year, the Nai Qala office team formally tested dozens of pens, pencils, erasers, glues and other items; putting them through durability and strength tests, checking the contents of the reservoirs: how many hours of writing does a pen do? How many shocks can a pencil survive? Is the glue pot filled to the top? Each model was evaluated according to objective criteria and only the best was retained.

As regards the size of the toothbrushes, the purchasing manager was responsible for researching the market and having colleagues test suitable models. After several days of testing, the model that will appear in the classrooms was selected: a simple, solid toothbrush that will reach every corner of a 6-year-old’s mouth.

Almost everything is available in the markets of Afghanistan’s capital, but not always to international quality standards: a well-informed consumer is better prepared. The young beneficiaries of Nai Qala’s educational programs will be able to count on material adapted to their use.

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Promoting Children’s rights – Bamyan School Quiz Project

Nai Qala had the great honor to partner with UNICEF in Bamyan to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Nai Qala firmly believes that every child has fundamental rights. Over the past decade, we have been supporting children specifically through our educational projects – building of schools, setting up of preschool centers, preparing students for university, and running tutoring and teacher training programs. Nai Qala acknowledges that children will be the future actors for change and in this spirit, it is of utmost importance that their rights are recognized.

Bringing children’s rights to the forefront in Bamyan Province

It is with great pride that Nai Qala has worked together with UNICEF on a project to bring the Rights of the Child to the forefront in the Province of Bamyan and to help raise awareness.

A team of Nai Qala project officers was in charge of explaining children’s right to schoolchildren from grades 7 to 9, of distributing brochures and organizing quizzes in schools. The program was successfully implemented in 8 districts, covering 25 public schools and 6 accelerated learning centers for children between the ages of 13 to 15. An information booklet explaining children’s rights was distributed to 2’500 children who were the direct beneficiaries. Furthermore, each of the 2’500 booklets were taken home by students to their families, increasing the circle of indirect beneficiaries.

During morning assembly of each school, pupils from grades 7 to 9 were asked to read from the booklet aloud in front of all schoolmates, from primary to high school grade. This ensured that the message of the Convention on the Rights of the Child reached the largest audience possible. For 25 schools, an estimated total of 12,500 students learned about the convention. Overall, more than 25’000 people were made aware directly or indirectly of children’s rights.

A quiz specially developed on this subject was then held in each school for children aged 13-15 years. The winner of the local school competition had the chance to take the next step and participate in a competition at the district level, for entry into the grand final in Bamyan city. Nai Qala’s team was very touched to see the great enthusiasm of all the children who worked so hard to be the winners.

Difficult conditions but strong motivation

Nai Qala’s project team travelled in the most isolated areas of the Province, facing rain and snow. Sometimes project officers had to go by foot as the roads were muddy or icy and it was simply impossible to travel by car however the team persevered and remained determined. There could have been dozens of excuses for not implementing this project in difficult areas… 

The purpose of the project was certainly the best reason for such great commitment from the team. Field officers accepted and overcame these difficulties and rose to the challenge because they were convinced of the benefits of raising young people’s awareness of children’s rights.

Building on Nai Qala’s know how to advance the Rights of children

Over all these years, Nai Qala Association has created a strong network in the communities with a good reputation and managed to gain their trust. Our success with this project is all the more admirable as we must stress that we presented it to traditional communities that were generally less receptive to new ideas. It took the diplomacy and patience of our team to guide them.

Project team members took the time to discuss respectfully with local communities and were successful at encouraging children to take part in the competition. Incidentally, children from these remote communities were among the winners of the district competition and their proud parents accompanied them to Bamyan.

The grand final

Nai Qala is very proud to have successfully implemented this project with UNICEF and was especially pleased to honor this program on World Children’s day, in Bamyan, where the finals of the children’s rights quiz were held and have chosen 6 finalists, 3 girls and 3 boys. The ceremony was a high-profile event involving many respected officials from UNICEF and local authorities, but most importantly, over 400 children, parents, teachers and school headmasters from all the regions of the Province. It has been an honor to welcome them all to such a beautiful event and it is especially commendable for those who have travelled from the most remote regions, in spite of rain and snow on roads that were already difficult to pass due to lack of proper infrastructure. Many of them of them travelled such distances and left their villages for the first time ever.

We were particularly touched to see parents encourage their children and the teachers encourage their students not only during the finals but during the whole duration of the project. We are extremely grateful and privileged to be given such a unique chance and opportunity to contribute to improving awareness of children’s rights. We wish to thank UNICEF for partnering with Nai Qala Association and for the trust placed in us.

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An experience of itinerant teachers

Behnam, Imani and Adeeb discuss their three-year field experience as itinerant teachers in Nai Qala schools

“We are three teachers who all worked with the Nai Qala Association (NQA) for 3 years. We travelled and helped hundreds of girls during these three years. We went to 6 different schools and students came from over 50 villages to attend our classes. 

The goal of our program was to help girls to get into university or any higher education. Even today in Afghanistan, the quality of education is still low and is a challenge. This is even more challenging in the rural regions as well as for students in such areas. Furthermore, for girls it is even more challenging. We are very proud to help those girls and give them hope.

We were tasked by NQA, but once we went to those remote regions without any phone connection, we did not need to be supervised by someone from NQA. We did our job with commitment. For us, the motivation was created by NQA leadership. We worked under very tough circumstances in those very remote regions. 

We were not only teaching the students, but we worked also socially with the parents and elders. We talked about the value of education and why it is important. We took our time because these regions are veryundeveloped and had never had such things explained to them. The communities also took these messagesvery seriously as our contribution was very concrete and visible. We talked positively about their abilities and how they should believe in themselves.

In some cases, when we identified some girls who had greater difficulties with their lessons or even did not attend our classes,  we took our time to walk for hours to meet their parents to discuss and explain why their daughter had such difficulties or encourage them to allow their daughters to come to school. It was much appreciated that someone would even “bother” to think about their children. But for us, this was a normal duty for our country to do it and make our own minimum contribution.

We created such a positive atmosphere that students started to be rarely absent or not at all. The children became very motivated to attend school.

Another very important point was that we contributed to the local economy of those remote regions. The communities used to send their children to towns for extra tutoring in  their school subjects. This program was not only important for the students but particularly for their parents as they could save money by not sending them to town. Our program was of the same quality as those in the towns. Furthermore, the students got higher marks in class. 

These 3 years helped us to learn how to be disciplined and take responsibility. This mission was the biggest learning of life. We learn more  when we are challenged. Our mission was extremely challenging, and this was important. Sometimes we had to wash our faces early in the morning, at temperatures of below 30 degrees. We had to break the ice in order to get to the water. These were the moments when we thought we could not carry on. Then we would see the girls arriving after an hour’s walk in such cold weather,  with their frozen scarves around their necks. That was the moment that convinced us to remain and help those girls… this is the reason for our motivation! 

Finally, another important point was that we discovered another province, that was even more isolated than our own. We also realized how another province can be beautiful with its culture and tradition, how they live with dignity and pride in spite of extreme poverty.

We shall remain loyal always to NQA and its vision for Afghanistan and its strong belief in change and hope for those girls in those isolated areas… “

With respect,


Behnam, Emani and Adeeb

Editor’s note:After three years of serving the Nai Qala Association, Behnam, Emani and Adeeb have chosen to return to a more sedentary life. They have obtained state teaching positions in their home region.

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An organization supported by a network of volunteers

Despite an efficient team in Afghanistan, the Nai Qala association would not be able to operate without its network of motivated volunteers.

Since 2007, the Nai Qala Association (NQA) has built schools and a health center to serve needy communities in the remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan. Nai Qala has changed the lives of thousands of people, from girls and boys finally accessing formal education to families improving their health standards and economic status.

For the same period of time, NQA has also significantly increased its operational capacity in Afghanistan, by setting up and strengthening an efficient team in Kabul, both quantitively and qualitatively. However, nothing can be taken for granted; none of NQA’s achievement would been possible without the dedication and hard work of NQA board members and volunteers in Switzerland and in Afghanistan.

Volunteers in Switzerland and Afghanistan

In Switzerland, the organization is governed by a board of volunteers with expertise in a variety of areas such as humanitarian, health or education. NQA is also supported there by a large network of volunteers who bring their contributions in different formats. Some have networks in local communities and help organize fundraising events, some help with writing and communication, some with translations, others with legal matters, or with managing NQA’s website and social media presence.

At the very beginning of NQA’s activity, the President’s accommodation and transportation in Afghanistan was entirely provided by local volunteers. Nai Qala can still count on several volunteers in Kabul today, whether for translations, travel or, as seen recently, for welcoming guests during the opening of the photo exhibition at Kabul University. Such local commitment also shows the Afghans own strong engagement and determination to participate in creating their own future.

All volunteers and board members believe strongly in profound change in the rural regions of Afghanistan. They give their time during or after their work, in the evenings, weekends or during holidays. They are committed to help with fundraising and do not hesitate when they have to chop onions or tomatoes to prepare a meal to raise money for Nai Qala. The way they help is an inspiring example of the volunteer philosophy. Some of them are almost “professional volunteers” and each of them is a symbol of solidarity between communities in Switzerland and those in Afghanistan. 

Volunteering is used as a motivation message to NQA’s staff in Afghanistan – as well as to the communities that NQA helps, the construction companies NQA works with, and NQA’s government partners: “We Afghans must not take anything for granted. We must show accountability for all support that comes to us from the efforts of hard-working and good-hearted volunteers who do so much for us”reminds regularly Mrs. Rahim, NQA’s president.

The Nai Qala Association and all its beneficiaries are very thankful to all these people who dedicate their time, skills and passion to make remote rural Afghanistan a better place.  

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The origin of Nai Qala, its name and the vision behind it

Nai Qala’s president, Taiba Rahim, speaks about the origins of the name of the organization.

“Today I would like to share how the Nai Qala Association began. First of all, what does Nai Qala mean? 

Nai (ني) is the bamboo plant. But Nai also means a flute (the musical instrument). Qala means a fortified city. So Nai Qala is “city of bamboo”. People say that there were many bamboo plants in this valley in the past, though there are none there today.

However, there is also another story about Nai Qala’s origin. Nai Qala is located in the district of Qara Bagh, in Ghazni Province (south-central Afghanistan). The Ghaznavid dynasty ruled Ghazni from 998 to 1030 – part of an empire that extended into India.  

Legend has it that in the Nai Qala region there was a prison. Travelers who passed through this region reported hearing the sound of home-made flutes – played by prisoners passing the long days. So the name of Nai Qala could be linked to the “city of bamboo” or to the “city of flutes”. 

My father was born and raised in the Nai Qala valley. Despite its rich history, the area has been forgotten for centuries. When my father was growing up, Nai Qala had no school, no clinic, no road and absolutely no infrastructure. He was a humble and modest shepherd but with a great vision. I am one of his nine children. He was convinced that only through education could we extract ourselves from poverty and isolation. 

He made a decision that was both courageous and unusual for someone from that region. He left Nai Qala and moved to a town where it was possible for his children to go to school. All of us children got a decent education. I am very grateful for that and today I want to honor my father and continue his vision. 

In 2007 I created an association with the aim of building schools for the thousands of girls and boys in those remote regions. I named this association Nai Qala because:

  • This area is a reminder of some of the great periods of Afghan history – Ghazni was a key city in the empires of Cyrus of Persia and Alexander the Great, it was a major trading centre along the Silk Road from China to the West as well as during the Ghaznavid period a thousand years ago. Even if today our country is going through a tough period of war, we Afghans must remind ourselves of our history to help us restore our identity and build a sense of pride in ourselves…
  • I want to honor the village that was the home of my father and mother who so courageously moved away from the only world they knew to give their children a better future. It must have been a difficult choice…
  • I also want to be reminded every day of who I am. No matter what I do, where I go or whether I succeed or fail, I am reminded constantly of my background – a desperately poor village where the children had nothing to dream of or hope for. 

Today NQA has expanded its activities in many other rural regions but I shall always remain committed to that village, and others like it. I remain committed to my country which, I believe, needs my contribution if ever we are going to give Afghanistan’s children hope in the future.”

Taiba Rahim
President,
Nai Qala Association

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Building policies to support a strong organization

The team in Kabul has been developing and refining a dozen policies over the past few months.

Policies are generally principles, rules, and guidelines formulated or adopted by an organization to reach its long-term goals. Policies, as well as their inherent procedures, are designed to influence and determine all major decisions and actions, and all activities that take place within the boundaries set by them. 

A policy as a guide for action 

Policies generally outline the rules, they provide principles that guide actions, set roles and responsibilities, reflect the values and beliefs, and state the intention of an organization to do something. Over the past months, Nai Qala employees have worked on a dozen policies that will support them in their everyday working life and that will guide their actions towards a sustainable organization. 

Nai Qala’s policies cover various areas such as harassment, ethical image, fundraising, gender, privacy, procurement, human resources, finance, social media, conflicts of interest, communication, etc. Working on the development of such policies has allowed employees to take full ownership and reinforce the team spirit. Above all, these new policies will make the administration easier and clearer, and allow Nai Qala’s staff to get on with the organization’s core activities more efficiently and effectively.

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Opening ceremony of Nai Qala’s photo exhibition

An opening ceremony of Nai Qala’s photo exhibition was held in a packed ACKU room

On November 14, more than 300 people gathered in a packed room of the Afghan Centre of Kabul University (ACKU) to attend the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition on the power of education in remote rural regions of Afghanistan.ACKU director, Mr. Abdul Wahid Wafa, Mrs. Fiona Gall from ACBAR and Mrs. Taiba Rahim, president of the Nai Qala Association made speeches on the importance of education whilst Mrs. Haris Coussidis, photographer and author of the more than 50 photos displayed on the walls of the Centre, shared her message through a recorded message. Mr. Wafa summarized the spirit of the event by declaring that “the exhibition is about the hope of the new generation of Afghanistan and the simple livelihood of the people of the central regions of Afghanistan with a great hope for the future of their children“.

An inspiring and hopeful speech

In the ACKU room, one could spot several young women wearing red headscarves; these were former students of Nai Qala school who, on that day, proudly played the role of hostesses. Ms. Shegufa, who had been a pupil in Nai Qala village and who used to study in the open air until a school was built there, took on the role of chairwoman and embodied the Association’s message of hope and empowerment for girls. Ms. Shegufa herself talked of the inspirational example set by Nai Qala’s president as she “shows through her actions that women can be equal to men in the community”.  Shegufa, pointed out that “the President moved the audience and instilled hope because activities in such remote areas are unprecedented”.

Nai Qala’s President’s speech left its mark on many participants who attended the ceremony, like Nadia: “Mrs. Rahim is truly an inspiration to all young Afghans. Her speech highlighted empowerment, unity, hope and commitment, solidarity to succeed, and never losing hope and always being optimistic about the future. Pursuing her vision is a way to strengthen and respect fundamental human rights in our country and to give a different image of Afghanistan. I am pleased to have been one of the participants at the opening of this inspiring and truly stimulating exhibition.” A young man who spoke in front of the audience made an emotional statement by saying, “I lost my father last year, I thought the world was over… today I feel like it’s a new day with a ray of hope”.

The majority of the audience was made up of young university students who left the ceremony inspired by the talks and with a renewed hope for their country.

The exhibition “Hope, Dignity and Commitment: The Power of Education”, 52 photos by Haris Coussidis for the Nai Qala Association on the role of reconstruction and education in remote districts of Bamyan province, can be viewed at ACKU in Kabul until 31 December, 2018.

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Photo exhibition in Kabul

Photo exhibition in Kabul – November 14 to November 30, 2018.

Nai Qala is proud and grateful to be able to present a photography exhibition in partnership with the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University (ACKU), in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Through this event Nai Qala will present the association’s work in the rural areas of Afghanistan and in particular will have the opportunity to raise awareness within the capital of the challenges and hopes of the rural communities.

Click here to see the full program.

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Photographic exhibition

A photographic exhibition shows a positive image of Afghanistan and the changes that are taking place there.

Since 2007 the Nai Qala Association, through education has helped to create hope and opportunities in one of the most isolated areas of Afghanistan. Despite extreme poverty and the remoteness of the communities it is not despair and distress that we found there, but dignity and determination.

In 2017, to mark its 10th anniversary, Nai Qala asked a professional photographer, Haris Coussidis, who visited Afghanistan to take photos of the association’s activities, to make a pictorial record of the projects and their impact on the communities. This photographic report is part of a campaign to show the world that Afghans are committed to education, particularly for girls.

The association’s president presented the work to the city and canton of Geneva, who decided to support the association for an exhibition, which took place at “La Rotonde du Mont Blanc” from the 5th to the 25th March 2018.

This exhibition titled, “Women’s education, a hope for Afghanistan”, took place during the Geneva Equality week and the Human Rights Council, which was aptly symbolic for our work. Through these photographs we wanted to show a different side to Afghanistan, a positive image of men, women and children just like any others in the world – an image of a people with hope, aspiration and in search of opportunities. We wished to share the bravery of the parents in these rural regions, who despite poverty encouraged their girls to go to school to prepare a better future.

With particularly changeable weather, Nai Qala showcased on the Geneva lakeside. The exhibition was inaugurated with a press conference and opened with a debate which was covered by Swiss and international media.

Click here for a snapshot of the pictures that were shown in Geneva, including their captions.

Access the exhibition slide show here.