Polish teacher — a blessing for poor Ghor children

FIROZKOH (Pajhwok): A 28-year-old Polish woman has been teaching English language to children since a year in a remote district of western Ghor.

Monika, the Polish woman, has been teaching English in a private high school, Rahnaward Noor School in Lal wa Sarjangal district of Ghor without demanding a salary.

The district is located around 150 kilometers east of Firozkoh, the provincial capital. Pajhwok Afghan News reporter traveled to the area to find Monika and talk with her.

When asked why she came to Afghanistan, she said, “I was long interested to visit this country because I always heard only about war and bloodshed in the news about this country, I came here to see what really is happening.”

The woman, wearing robe and covering her hair with a headscarf, talked in English but used some Dari words. She said she had been in research of secure areas before coming to Afghanistan.

Monika said she wanted to visit an area in Afghanistan where security was better but education was inaccessible so she could help children there.

She found Lal wa Sarjangal district as the most secure but also found it deprived of any development.

“When I came to Ghor, I met the principle of Rahnaward Noor School and I asked him to let me teach English to children in his school,” she said, adding that her request was accepted by the school’s principle and since she doing her job.

Besides teaching in the school, Monika also teaches English to other children out of school.

In response to a question whether she was satisfied with her job or not, she said, “I came here to do something for these people, I am an English language instructor and I think it is good to be here and help children learn a different language, I want to stay for long time here.”

About her students all of whom come from impoverished families, she said, “I want to help these children to learn English and get higher education abroad in the future.”

Monika, who is single, did not want to talk about her personal life when asked by Pajhwok.

She has a room in the school which is equipped with primary tools and she spends her life there.

She showed her room to Pajhwok reporter and said, “I left my prosperous life in Europe and started giving free education to children here, the fact is that I like to live with rural people and do a service to them.”

The room has ordinary mattresses and carpet and her kitchen is equipped with a gas stove, a tea pot, a cooking pot and some bowls.

School students thank Monika and want her to stay longer with them

Azizullah Katibzadah, a student of sixth grade in Rahnaward Noor School said, “I am one of Monika’s students and we have learned a lot from her.”

Sibghatullah, another student, said, “She is a very active and skillful teacher, we thank her a lot for dedicating her life to us and leaving her country to help us.”

The founder of the school and Ghor education director praised Monika’s work and said the woman was a blessing for deprived children in the district.

Azizullah Mahdi, the founder of Rahnaward Noor School, told Pajhwok that the woman provided free English language instruction to students in his school.

He said the woman also taught separate classes outside of school for other children to teach them English.

“After attending a few lessons with her, now I can talk in English very well”, he added.

Ahmad Sabir Noori, Ghor education director, also said he was happy that a foreign woman had come to the province and was teaching children. He said he had watched Monika’s work and her only goal was to help children in the district.

mds/ma