U.S. aids Afghan school abandoned by CIDA
Canada left Kandahar in ‘dire need,’ teacher says
The American government has come to the financial rescue of a Kandahar school that was a hallmark of Canada’s long and bloody effort to bring peace and basic rights to the Taliban heartland. The Afghan-Canadian Community Centre, which has educated thousands of Afghan girls and women, is now changing its name, erasing recognition of Canada from what was once an enduring symbol of its support for Afghans.
The Canadian International Development Agency’s decision to cut off funding to the school forced founder and principal EhsanullahEhsan to scramble for new backing after almost six years of support from Canada.
It’s another blow to Canada’s legacy in Afghanistan, a year after Prime Minister Stephen Harper ordered combat troops, civilian aid workers and diplomats out of Kandahar province, where Taliban support runs deep.
Ehsan, who has braved countless Taliban threats to keep his school open, said Kandaharis still appreciate what Canadians did “with every possible professionalism and respect to the people and the local culture here.”
“However, Canada left Kandahar when there was still a dire need for their assistance, humanitarian assistance, I would stress,” Ehsan said. “Many wish here that Canada continue their humanitarian assistance so that the heavy sacrifices and investment Canada once made in Kandahar, and the region, are fully honoured and rewarded . . . and so that Canada’s friends are not let down, and that the international coalition built against evil remains intact until Afghanistan is stable and peaceful.” More than $500,000 in CIDA funds have paid around 89 per cent of the school’s budget since 2008, but the agency told Ehsan that it didn’t want the community centre to be dependent on Canadian aid, he said.
An administrative hitch held up the final weeks of Canadian funding, which left the school fraying at the edges as it waited for American support to start, Ehsan said.
“We had not been paid for two months before the U.S. funding arrived,” he said. “When we face such a situation, the women’s program becomes very badly affected. We lose drivers, staff and even discipline in the centre. Damaged computers pile up, buses and generators stop. We lose trust among our clients.”
The school, now called the Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies, has received the first instalment of a U.S. State Department grant expected to total more than $150,000 over the next year.
The money will go to the school’s most popular, afternoon program, which has around 1,600 female and male students, Ehsan said.
Another 200 women and girls attend morning classes, which began earlier this year. Ehsan has moved the Afghan-Canadian Community Centre’s name to that much smaller program. CIDA spokesman Clement Belanger did not respond to a request for comment despite an emailed assurance Wednesday that: “We are doing our best to respond to your media request asap.”
Mounting pressures on several fronts, including the constant struggle for funding, Afghan authorities’ displeasure with “foreign names” on local institutions and extremists’ intimidation, forced him to drop the reference to Canada, he said.
“My school was even raided by thugs several times,” Ehsan said. “Once I was even torturously interrogated for something that had nothing to do with me. And that was when I asked Canada for asylum, which they rejected.”
Ehsan’s once strong bond to Canada dates back to 2006, when he was almost broke and on the brink of closing a much smaller school for women and girls. Ottawa residents Ryan Aldred and Andrea Caverly read a Toronto Star report on its desperate financial problems and sent money to keep classes open. They then formed the Canadian International Learning Foundation, which helped Ehsan open the post-secondary school in a rambling old Kandahar City house. In the years since, what started with a quick decision to make a modest donation has grown to a charity supporting education in Afghanistan, Uganda and Yemen, with plans to expand into First Nations communities in Canada and abroad. Aldred said CIDA support was crucial to making the Kandahar community centre a respected school where thousands of Afghans have learned computer, literacy, business and other skills. They translated into good jobs and incomes for many families in a war zone where chronic unemployment and poverty help feed support for the Taliban and their insurgent allies. CIDA recognized the school’s “potential and helped to transform it into the modern institution it is today,” Aldred said. “However, I think that the government of Canada is missing its chance to ensure that the ACCC is part of Canada’s lasting legacy in Kandahar province.” For months, Aldred tried to persuade former International Development Minister Bev Oda to continue support for the school and appealed to several Members of Parliament to bolster his argument, but failed. “We were informed the government of Canada had ended economic development aid to Afghanistan,” Aldred said. “Apparently, post-secondary skills training is considered to be economic development rather than education. CIDA’s definition of education is focused more on primary school and basic skills, such as literacy.” Aldred’s charity is working to raise up to $225,000 to cover the centre’s core operating expenses for three years, after the initial one-year American grant is spent. He hopes Ottawa will get involved again in the effort to build a permanent home for Ehsan’s school. “For well less than a million dollars in funding, we have been able to provide vital professional training to several thousand students and ensure a source of income for close to 10,000 Kandahar residents. “It’s worth investing a modest amount of money in a permanent building and for additional scholarships for women in Kandahar to ensure that the centre continues to thrive and grow over the years to come.”