Razia Jan
Razia Jan, born in Afghanistan is the founder of Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation, a nonprofit education organization in Afghanistan.[1]
Career and charity work
[edit]Jan moved to the United States in 1970 to go to college.[2] The proprietor of a small tailoring business in Duxbury, Massachusetts, she served as president of the town's Rotary Club.[3][4]
After September 11, 2001, Jan rallied her New England community to send over 400 homemade blankets to rescue workers at Ground Zero.[5] Her efforts expanded to include sending care packages to US troops in Afghanistan. Through her involvement in the military's Operation Shoe Fly, she coordinated the delivery of over 30,000 pairs of shoes to needy Afghan children.[5]
In 2008, she opened a free all girls' school in Afghanistan, the Zabuli Education Center,[6][7][8] starting with 109 students.[2] The school is mostly funded by private donors.[2] In 2021 that had grown to 800 students,[9] but then was forced to shut under the new Taliban regime following the 2021 Taliban offensive. The school was allowed to re-open for primary school students, but was forced to stop educating secondary students.[10][11]
In 2017, she opened the Razia Jan Institute for Medical Sciences, which was a free two-year midwifery certification college. The first students graduated in 2019. The college was shut indefinitely in 2021 due to new restrictions on women's education. A new teacher certification program was due to start in 2021,[11] but was never launched due to legal restrictions.[12]
In popular culture
[edit]Jan is the subject of a children's picture book biography, Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education, written by Elizabeth Suneby and illustrated by Suana Verelst, published by Kids Can Press in 2013.[13][14][15][16] The book came to the attention of Roya Hosseini and was then used as part of curriculum of the Khaled Hosseini Foundation.[17] Razia's Ray of Hope was a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Title in 2014.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "About the Foundation". Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation. Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ a b c Beth Murphy (Oct 29, 2016). "Pashtana's Lesson". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Duxbury Rotary Club has been serving our community since 1950". Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ "Razia Jan fights to educate girls in rural Afghanistan". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ a b Elizabeth Behring. "Afghan girls' school founder visits Heidelberg". United States Army. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ Torgan, Allie (2012-08-02). "Acid attacks, poison: What Afghan girls risk by going to school". CNN. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "'A ray of hope' where girls didn't count". CNN. 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Torgan, Allie (2012-09-26). "Despite deadly risks, Afghan girls take brave first step". CNN. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ CNN Heroes 15th Anniversary: Razia Jan. CNN. 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "'We Have to Do the Best We Can': Uncertainty and Hope for One Girls' School Under New Taliban Regime". People. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ a b Brianna Navarre (April 7, 2022). "A Woman's Fight to Educate Girls in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan". US News and World Report.
- ^ "OUR PROGRAMS | RAZIA'S RAY OF HOPE FOUNDATION". Razia's Ray of Hope. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Razia's Ray of Hope. Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education, by Elizabeth Suneby | Booklist Online.
- ^ "Refugees welcome here: resources and booklist". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ "Razia's Ray of Hope". School Library Journal.
- ^ "News from the North: March 2014". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ "Elizabeth Suneby: A Window into a Girls' School in Afghanistan". Jane Addams Peace Association. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-03.