"Learning how to write in a school without a roof"

Report published in "Expresso", May 28th, 2011, after my visit to Shawl Pacha School, in Nangarhar, and also Pol-e-Charki High School, in Kabul, which is being improved by Portuguese military in Afghanistan.

Margarida Mota

Additional articles:

"Livros e lápis para meninos afegãos", Expresso Online, 30/07/2011 (portuguese)

Dossiê "O Expresso em Cabul": All my reports published in Expresso Online, during my stay in Afghanistan, from 8th until 18th April 2011. (portuguese)

My visit to AMI's "little school"

In April 2011, I traveled to Afghanistan on work for "Expresso". Happily, I had the opportunity to visit the "little school of AMI", as I called it, in Nangarhar.

Back home, I prepared a powerpoint, which records, in an informal style, my personal impressions on this unforgettable trip.

Photos by Margarida Mota

"Going to school to counter the destiny"

I first heard about Shawl Pacha School and AMI's participation in the project on 23rd June, 2010, during a seminar in Lisbon, at the Institute of National Defence (IDN), entitled "Afghanistan: What future?".

Lieutenant Colonel Octávio Vieira took part in that seminar. He was the one who established the first contact between Mina Wali and Dr. Fernando Nobre. In the panel "Afghanistan: The need for integrated responses", he developed the "humanitarian effort" idea, giving as an example of what can (and should) be done in Afghanistan "the school funded by AMI, considered a model by the Afghan Ministry of Education".

I realized the extent of his words and decided to write an article for "Expresso" newspaper, where I work. By phone, I interviewed Mina Wali, Octávio Vieira and Tânia Barbosa, the latest a member of the International Department of AMI. On 30th December, 2010, it was published the article "Going to school to counter the destiny", in the printed edition of "Expresso".

At the same time, I prepared a dossier for "Expresso Online", where it can be found the texts published in the printed edition, an excerpt of Mina Wali's interview (audio format) and a photogallery provided by AMI.

From this article, and due to the empathy with the people I interviewed, I fell in love with this project and started dreaming about a visit to its location...

Margarida Mota

Articles:
"Going to school in Afghanistan," Express Online, 05/01/2011

"Going to school to counter the destination", Expresso, 12.30.2010 (Appendix)