Courtesy of Solace International Desks and benches provided by Solace International to a girls’ school in Qarqin, a village in Jangal Arigha. The UAA Afghan Girl’s School Project is raising money to build more schools in the region.

UAA raffle to raise funds for Afghan school

By Jessica Ramsey Golden
Northern Light

The Honors Student Advisory Board at the University of Alaska Anchorage is holding a raffle this semester as part of an endeavor to raise $25,000 for the Afghanistan Girls’ School Project.

“One of the things we do is community service projects and we were looking for something a little bit bigger than what we normally do,” said board member Cassie Iutzi-Mitchell. “So we decided to team up with Solace International and raise the money to build an entire school.”

UAA fundraising will benefit Solace International, an Alaska-based, grassroots, nonprofit organization founded by Alaska Pacific University graduate Nathan York.

“The Afghanistan Girls’ School Project is dedicated to providing the physical structures and educational materials necessary to allow Afghan girls and women the education they crave,” according to the Solace International Web site.

The UAA enterprise was initiated last April by board member Linda Hardyman.

“A lot of people want to get involved but don’t know what to do, and I am no exception,” Hardyman said. “I want to do something to help the people of Afghanistan but I have no clue how to go over there and build a school. Because of the work that Solace (International) is doing, I can be involved and make a difference without actually knowing how to build a school. By organizing fundraising activities, we are creating an avenue for other people to get involved.”

UAA has embraced the project. Clubs, student volunteers, faculty and staff have committed to helping HSAB reach its goal.

“It sort of has a life of its own,” Hardyman said. “When we had our first fundraiser we sold popcorn and an idea. We raised $1500 in cash and pledges in three days… A lot of people gave $20 for a bag of popcorn and said, ‘keep the change.’ Somebody threw a fifty in there anonymously.”

A raffle, the largest fundraiser planned by the organization, will begin in March. Tickets are $10 each and prizes will be given at the end of the month.

“Right now we have a number of rugs that Solace brought back for us from Afghanistan,” said volunteer Kelsey Frazier. “We’ve got a burka, Afghan jewelry, handcrafted.”

There are also gift certificates from local businesses including a chiropractor and a day spa. The grand prize, a Bombardier Outlander ATV, was donated by Alaska Mining and Diving Supply. Prize donations are still being solicited.

The school will be located in Jangal Arigha, a rural region of northeast Afghanistan where, currently, students are meeting in an open field.

“Northern Afghanistan is kind of chilly,” Iutzi-Mitchell said. “It can be like the weather in Anchorage.”

She stresses that Solace International seeks permission from Afghan tribal elders and that, once the school is built, the curriculum is determined and taught by local teachers.

“There’s no political or religious reasons behind what they’re doing,” Iutzi-Mitchell said. “If the town elders decide that yes, it’s worthwhile to educate female students then they’ll build the school.”

The goal of $25,000 will cover many of the costs of building a school including supplies, desks and benches, building materials and labor.

“All of the building supplies and all of the labor actually comes from the town in which the school is being built,” Iutzi-Mitchell said.

The Afghanistan Girls’ School Project will host an on campus information booth in Building K Jan. 27 and again in the Business Education Building Jan. 28 and 29.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact project organizers by e-mail at uaaafghanproject@mail.com.

For more information on Solace International visit their Web site at www.afghanistanproject.org.

‘A lot of people gave $20 for a bag of p
opcorn and said, ‘keep the change.’
Somebody threw a fifty in there anonymously.’

Linda Hardyman, Honors Student Advisory Board member.