Think Creative Issue 8

Mohammad Aub Arab Empowering families to educate at home

information with mosques and encouraging imams to convey edu- cational messages,” Mohammad says of the campaign. Nangarhar Provincial Education Department and District Education Department officials picked up on Mohammad and the shura’s success and urged others to expand their reach. “Shura members from 71 schools that are part of the Afghan Children parents,” says Mohammad. “Around 90 percent of the target commu- nity population in six districts were informed by Imams, either during prayer times or through loudspeak- ers, about important public health and education announcements.” Afghan Children Read is sharing Nangarhar’s community initiatives with shuras, educators and officials in the three other provinces where it implements the USAID program. What started as a stopgap measure for Mohammad’s five children has grown beyond his home. Because of his resolve, thousands of Afghan students continue to learn despite the global pandemic. n Read project are part of these efforts to convey messages to

In Afghanistan, accessing quality education can be a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic created another obstacle for students and their families, forcing schools to shut down across the country and parents to take on the role of teaching.

Though not a trained teacher, Mohammad is part of his local school management shura, which brings together educators, parents and community members to support the school and its students. Active in the shura since 2012, he took part in sev- eral workshops and events organized by USAID’s Afghan Children Read. These activities ultimately helped prepare him for this unique situation. Mohammad believes any parent can adapt the homeschool plan he de- veloped to work for their own family. “I shared my experience with the other school management shura members and encouraged them to start a campaign to raise educational awareness,” he says. The shura expanded Mohammad’s system to include tips for reading and writing exercises and encouraged families to follow TV and radio pro- grams that support homeschooling. Knowing that some parents were reluctant to send their children to school at all, the shura launched a local campaign urging them to continue their children’s education at home. “We are calling parents by phone, sending letters, sharing

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I cannot overlook my responsibility to be part of my children’s education.”

With five school-aged children suddenly at home and without lesson plans, Mohammad Aub Arab stepped into a new responsibility. He immediately organized a schedule for his children that reflected their classroom curriculum. “I cannot overlook my responsibility to be part of my children’s educa- tion,” says Mohammad, who lives in Nangarhar province. “I strongly be- lieve that fathers are the first teachers of their children.”

Mohammad goes over a lesson with two of his sons at their home.

Photo by JimHuylebroek

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