Kaloo School

School has never been something to be taken for granted in Afghanistan, especially for girls. The result is that more than two-thirds of the Afghan population is illiterate, and the percentage is even higher among women. Fortunately, 9-year-old Fakhere does go to school, albeit after tending the sheep. She lives in Kaloo, a remote village of 2,500 families in the mountains of central Afghanistan. Children have to walk long distances to attend school, some of them up to five hours a day. Fakhere and some of her fellow students are followed on their trip through a vast and beautiful landscape with rippling streams, meandering paths, green valleys and rugged brown mountains. Right now, the landscape looks very welcoming, but life is tough here in winter. We also see Fakhere sitting in class, and there are some very brief interviews with her, a little boy who accompanies her to school and a fellow villager. Showing that the population of this inhospitable region is aware of the importance of an education, this short impression gives hope for the future.