Shah Mohammad is one of the elders of Takht Roi village in Afghanistan. Last year, when his wife became ill, he had to take her to Herat City to find a doctor. When they arrived in the city, he and his wife waited in an empty building all day, mistaking it for a doctor’s office. Finally, Mohammad asked someone about the doctor’s arrival. He was surprised and disappointed when the man replied, “This is not the doctor’s office. The doctor’s office is over there. Can’t you read the sign?” In that moment, Shah Mohammad wished he were literate and vowed that his daughters would go to school so that they could read.
In a nation ravaged by conflict for over two decades, it is not uncommon to find many adults and children who missed out on the opportunity to go to school and who therefore do not have the basic skill of functional literacy. Fortunately, the international community is increasingly recognizing that children and youth in emergency and early reconstruction situations have the right to education.
