Investment in primary education is the cornerstone of economic development. This project is part of reconstruction efforts aimed at helping countries recovering from war develop primary systems of education that take into account the trauma of war suffered by the children. Our research will aid governmental organizations, international governmental organizations, as well as international nongovernmental organizations that allocate aid to the most victimized members of war; the children. The purpose of this project is strictly humanitarian. Its purpose is to promote better understanding of the difficulty war traumatized children face in receiving primary education and will help prevent the mistreatment and neglect they commonly suffer. This work will be conducted in three stages: research, analysis and advisory.       Research Project The program focuses on the following research areas: Education Child development Child Trauma Children’s Human Rights Child’s Mental Health Development Child Labor Family Involvement in Child Development Children Orphaned by the Effects of the Aids Epidemic     Our Current Activities    This project was initiated in the summer of 2002. Organization founder Sarah Shah contacted governmental organizations and NGOs working in Rwanda, the Balkans, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan regarding their research conducted on primary education in these countries over the last five years. We then collected and compiled the published and unpublished reports of UNICEF and other NGOs working on the redevelopment of primary education in third world countries. These reports have helped to provide the necessary data by which to define the curriculum lacking in current primary education programs and to develop programs to help the children of post war societies whose rights to education have not always been recognized.    We will conduct original research on site at twenty-six schools in Afghanistan. UNICEF has recently rebuilt these schools. The research will test the range, magnitude, and duration of the effects of trauma on children in the primary education system. The range of the study will be limited to children in post-war societies who are suffering from war trauma. The magnitude of our study will test the overall impact of the events such as prolonged war, poverty and illiteracy that have left these children without the necessary faculties to function in a democratic society. Afghanistan also provides an ideal setting to test the duration of the effects of trauma on children. Afghanistan has been through twenty-three years of war. We will interview children and adults at different levels of development. We will come to a summary of conclusions that will be tested and analyzed by our experts. This analysis will help us formulate solutions and serve to fill the serious void in curriculum and understanding for the unique and profound needs of children in post-war societies. This original research will help governmental and non-governmental organizations more effectively address education for children in post-war societies.    Our experts are child psychiatrists such as world-renowned child trauma and education specialist Dr. Lark Eshleman of the Child Development Association, and educators such as Dr. Sharief Fayez, Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan and Judge Lee Sislen of the Juvenile Court, Prince George’s County Maryland. These experts have agreed to volunteer their time to the cause of helping children around the world have access to quality primary education. They will analyze the material compiled on human rights violations of children in post-war societies in terms of lack of primary education by December 2003.    In the years 2004-2005 we plan to work with post-war countries, particularly Afghanistan to develop a primary system of education that is effective in developing contributing, valuable members of society. Once our research and analysis has been completed in December 2003, we will be able to make recommendations to governmental organizations, international governmental organizations and NGOs involved in redevelopment activities in post-war countries. These recommendations will be based on analyses of our experts in the field. This will ensure that the rights of the children who are most vulnerable will be protected by the international community.
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