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Information about Farah and RAWA's Activity in this province Farah Geography:   Farah lies in western Afghanistan, surrounded from the north by Herat, south by Nemroz, east by Ghore and west by Iran. Area wise, it is the largest province in Afghanistan, but it remains undeveloped, having a low literacy rate as compared to major cities like Mazar, Kabul, Herat and Kandihar. Scarcity of rainfall and vast arid areas turned this province into a big desert; only one river passes through the center of the province, which is dry after Spring.   90% of the people of this province are farmers. The chief crops are wheat and barley. Varieties of fruits such as grapes, pomegranates and apricots are also grown in this province. Social Condition:   Farah people are of mixed ethnicity, where Persian and Pashto speaking people are equally dominant, making up 98% of the population.   The migration to Iran had a significant influence on the life of Farah's people. The high culture and civilized society of Iran taught these disadvantaged people modern norms. Now when they return to their ruined homes, they seek a different lifestyle. They want their daughters to be educated - a different view from that of their ancestors. This was obvious when RAWA opened a girls' school in an impoverished village, where the rush of girls and the willingness and support of their parents was incredible!   People in Farah experienced the severe effects of drought more than any other people in Afghanistan. The Farah River, which is the source of life for the whole province, was completely dry for four consecutive years. RAWA Food Distribution in Farah Farah was not the main battle field of the Afghan-Russian War, but due to the presence of a military air base (north of Farah), this province was turned into a place used by the former Soviet military.   Like rest of the country, Farah also was targeted heavily by the US Cruise missiles, but the scale of damage was not as severe as it was in other parts of the country. Since it is near to Kandahar (stronghold of the Taliban), Farah was crowded by Taliban militia. RAWA Activities in Farah:   RAWA members are very active in this province. Some of the main activities of RAWA in this province are: Women's Literacy Course:   Out of 540 women's literacy courses which RAWA runs across the country, 120 are in Farah, where 1500 women have so far been registered. This is something of a revolution for the women of this province, whose literacy rate is somewhere below1% - unbelievable. Farah Girl's School   A new school for girls has recently been set up in one of the remote villages; it has been planned by the local RAWA Educational Committee to make it one of the best schools, with the most up-to-date standards. This school is now providing quality education for girls including facilities such as a computer lab, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, table tennis, a playground, etc. Income Generating Projects:   RAWA runs a few income generating projects in the province for women who have no other source of income. Tailoring, carpet weaving and farming are some of the subjects taught to help the women learn skills to support their children. Health Center and Mobile Health Team:   Hamoon Health Center is a clinic run by RAWA in Farah, which is staffed with three doctors. Apart from a small government hospital in Farah City, this is the only health center in the whole province. The RAWA clinic provides free treatment and free medicine for patients. Over 50 patients are being treated daily in this center.   In addition to the health center, RAWA also has a mobile health team, which travels across the province, providing free treatment and medicine for desert people. As has been mentioned above, the whole province has one hospital and people have to travel miles and miles to visit a doctor. Now this mobile team, though there is only one, is doing a revolutionary job by going to remote villages. The report prepared by the RAWA's Mobile Health Team says that there are many cases where people die of simple diseases because they don't have access to a doctor or medicine. Reconstruction:   One of the greatest humanitarian works that RAWA has provided for the people of Farah is the construction of three water canals, which the people will remember forever. Three big water canals, each with a length of 30km, were constructed and repaired by RAWA. These canals irrigate over 30,000 acres of arid land, benefiting a population of 50,000. Since the construction of these canals, significant changes have come into the lives of the people. Computer Course:   Recently RAWA managed to open a computer center in Farah, with 30 PCs. This center provides free computer education to both boys and girls. "Computer" is a new word for most of people in Farah, who have never heard anything about electronic technology! The establishment of this center attracted hundreds of boys and girls who are anxiously waiting for their turn to be admitted to computer courses. Since a limited number of computers are available, only two batches of 30 can take the course at one time. Each person receives 6 months training. Orphanage:   RAWA also runs an orphanage for 50 girls in Farah, opened 2 years ago. Besides giving the orphans shelter, food and other necessities, this facility also has an attached school. This school is not under government control, but run by RAWA, following RAWA's standards for education.   Recently, RAWA supporters in the U.S.* promised to fund another orphanage in Farah, which will hopefully get underway soon. *RAWA Supporters Santa Barbara Farah Orphanage:   This piece of information is about an orphanage established two years ago by RAWA in Farah City.   The process of establishing this orphanage was started by the great efforts of some supporters, families, teachers and students of our literacy courses who helped us to make a list of the orphans, in which their family names, addresses and backgrounds were described. The list included 400 girls and 300 boys who were all from different villages and areas around Farah City. Then a meeting between RAWA members and some male and female supporters was held, taking on the difficult task of choosing 50 out of 700 orphans. After few days of discussions, we finally made a list of the neediest and most deserving orphans. Later on we informed their families to bring their children to the orphanage. * We managed to rent a large house for the orphanage in Farah City. The staff and teachers of the orphanage undertook their responsibilities with tremendous enthusiasm.   *(Ed. Note: Many "orphans" in Afghanistan actually HAVE one or more parent, but these people cannot afford to feed, care for or send their children to school, so they send their children to RAWA orphanages wherever possible.)   The orphanage is located in the North of the city, which is not a crowded area, and has very nice weather, especially in the spring. In other words the orphanage has been placed in an area that is far away from pollution, sewage, dusty and misty air, bazaars and crowded areas, so that noise pollution coming from cars creates no disturbance for the educational program and other activities of the orphans.   There are 50 girls in RAWA's Girls' Hostel in Farah. They come from different regions and ethnic backgrounds, speaking two languages - Pashtu and Persian. Their ages are between six and fourteen. (It is worth mentioning that their ages are approximate.) They have been organized into three classes: first, second and third, according to their education level. There are 18 students in the first class, 14 in the second class and 18 are in the third class.   Naturally, the children, coming from different backgrounds, have brought different moral character and habits with them. Therefore the teachers at the beginning have the job of treating the orphans individually and advising them to be more responsible about education, and train them in terms of politeness, courtesy, respect, good manners, civility etc. The teachers are also responsible for taking into consideration the ability, intelligence and aptitude of the orphans, to encourage them in the particular subject, game etc… towards which they show more aptitude.   The staff and the teachers of the orphanage are advised to view everyone with equal sincerity, and not to seek or show favoritism for one child, or a group of them. The teachers are wonderful and very kind, having great love and affection, like mothers, for all of the children. That is why the kids consider the orphanage as their own home within a very short time, a place where they can share their sorrows and problems with each other. The teachers play a vital role in helping them to forget their miserable past.   Each child has been provided with a card in which the teachers record their physical growth, educational improvement, behavior, abilities etc. The children are given permission to go to their homes on holidays or for special events. They return back to the orphanage with joy, which makes their families happy, and they trust RAWA more and more with the passage of time.