Shamsullah has joined AWEC Kankor preparation class for the university entry test in Peerkoti village. He is enthusiastic about going to the university to become a doctor. Shamsullsh is 17 years old. He belongs to a poor family and his father is a farmer who works in the village crop field. Shamsullah is very interested in studying the medical field and wants to become a doctor. He likes to study science subjects’ biology in particular. He lives in Peerkoti village, far from the district's center (Orgun). This village is located in a narrow valley surrounded by mountains. The road to this district is also rough which makes it difficult to get here. There is no health or medical facility in the entire valley and people go to either Orgun or Sharana the capital of Paktika province for treatment. Most of the villagers go across the border into Pakistan to seek medical assistance and get treatments. His motto for becoming a doctor is to provide free medical assistance to poor and needy families and contribute to the wellbeing of community. Most of the population of Peerkoti village is illiterate. There is a high school in the village that has been built in the recent years but going to university is a dream for many students. Some do make a chance of going to the university but cannot study their favorite faculty because they do not know much about the entry test. Students from wealthy families go to either Kabul or Jalalabad for Kankor preparatory courses. But students whose family cannot provide financial support do not participate in the entry test. Some do make a struggle to participate in Kankor exam but performs poor and fails to find a way to the university. AWEC started the Kankor preparatory class as part of TDH project activity in 4 high schools of Orgun district. One class was established in Peerkoti and the students began enrolment right after. Shamsullah also got the news about Kankor preparatory class in his village and rushed towards the class for enrolment. He was very excited about this and thought that this is the time to make it happen and go to the university. Although Shamsullah had asked his father many times to send him to Kabul for preparatory class his father refused because he could not afford this. Shamsullah was disappointed and almost lost faith in dreams. But with the opening of AWEC preparatory class in Peerkoti his dreams once again resurrected. He comes to the class regularly with great passion. This class has provided an opportunity for many students to pursue their education dreams by studying their favorite faculty. The village elders as well as school management thanked AWEC for opening preparatory classes and showed strong support. The impact of these classes in Paktika is impressive because students find it difficult to pursue higher education due to the complicated Kankor test. Although we have 25 25-student limit for each class due to the large number of students and willingness of students to join the university, the number of students is large. They travel long distances to get to the class.

07-06-2024