Greetings!   

   The Afghan government decided to not open schools in March when they normally would. Their schools close during the winter months. Private schools were allowed to open the first week of July. We immediately opened five of our libraries, requiring students to wear masks, wash their hands, have their temperatures taken before entering and to socially distance. Public schools recently opened. We then opened the libraries that had been closed.  

   Basir reports that the children are "very happy", with an exclamation point. Bear in mind they have been sequestered at home with no online learning. Many live in households where homeschooling is not possible. The overall literacy rate in Afghanistan is 43 percent. For Afghan men it's 55 percent and women 29.8%. The good news is that the literacy rate for Afghan youths aged 15–24 has substantially increased and now stands at 65 per cent.

    Before the Covid crisis around 700 children were using our libraries a day, 60% of whom were girls. I should receive a utilization report by the end of this month and know what impact the pandemic is having. Whatever the utilization rate, dollar for dollar, a benefit/cost ratio of the libraries would be extremely high, second only to our sponsorship program (for details click here).