Women and girls comprise the largest category of vulnerable people in Afghanistan, and they continue to face barriers to education.

A second signature project commits Canada to build, expand or repair 50 schools in key Kandahar districts. To date, the construction of three schools has been completed and 22 more are under construction. As well, the goal is to train 3,000 teachers by 2011. Canada continues to build on this training with employment skills and literacy courses for adults. In January 2009, approximately 11,000 Afghans, including 9,000 women, completed a ten-month literacy course. For Kandaharis, a large number of whom are illiterate, learning to read yields simple but immediate and powerful rewards. “I can now read signs along the road in the city,” said one woman, a widow with five children. For the first time, she and other participants can read children’s names on documents, identify bus routes or qualify for a job.

Learn more:

• Read about the Millennium Development Goals and how they relate to youth.
• Find out about the ten basic rights of all children.
• Play UNICEF's quiz game to learn about the various issues that affect children worldwide.
• Visit the following youth-focused websites:
  • TakingITGlobal: Afghanistan, a web-based platform for ideas and expression, a resource of opportunities, and a network of inspirational young people and their projects.
  • Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, a site managed by a network of young girls who raise funds to support education in Afghanistan.
  • UNICEF Kids' Room, a place for kids to learn about children around the world, play games, read stories and have fun!
  • Cyberschoolbus, the United Nations' Global teaching and learning project.