By Syma Sayyah, Tehran
The Popli Khalatbari Charitable Foundation has done
it again! This hard working NGO puts shame on the faces of those who say that
one cannot work in Iran. They, and
the work they do in Iran (among other places) prove that
once there is a will there is a way.
If you really mean it you can do it, and do it well, on time, without
fuss and with highest standards.
I have been aware of the Popli
Khalatbari Charitable Foundation (PKCF) for some years through my editor at payvand.com, and since then I have been
following their work and efforts in Iran as well as giving them a hand
for their good causes whenever I have been able to do so.
Their latest project, completed in
less than two years, is a technical school for girls in the west of Tehran at the end of the
Resalat Expressway. There are over
300 girls studying there now, and there may be 30 more next year. The girls will be able to study
accounting, physical education and computer science.
This school ground is 7000 sq meters
and the school itself is constructed on 3,500 sq meters. The construction started in February
2004 and the school was opened in September 2005. There is a large stadium for games and
sporting activities. Great
provision has been made for the comfort of students and the staff alike.
This technical school plans to be a
center to train girls to meet the needs of the modern world and prepare them for
the challenges of the realities of work and life. One can hope that through such
schools we will be able to train more and more young girls and boys who can
respond to the needs of our nation and make it better, instead of going to
university courses in subjects that they never intend to follow once they get
the paper degree.
At the Popli Technical School and other such places, young girls
learn to stand on their feet as not only do they get a good and solid education
but more so, like the European technical schools, they learn a trade which they
can use to earn a good living and make a better life for
themselves.
This new Technical School was opened just in time for this
academic year and believe me, I have never seen nor heard of such a large
project to go so successfully and so fast. This was due to the sincere
determination and hard work of all those involved, who incidentally were mostly
women. These included Mrs Diana
Khalatbari, the director of the foundation who followed progress constantly from
wherever she was, the good Mohandess Mrs Shafiee and Mr Mokhless who handled the
whole building project, and Mohandess Mr Bahram Shokouhian who was the school
architect, who donated his and his firm's time free of charge. Five public buildings in
Iran were short listed for the
building of the year award; Mr Shokouhian's design for the school was awarded
the third prize!
The first time I went there eighteen
months ago, there was nothing, just the land which the local educational
authority had given the Popli foundation on which to build the school. There were delays due to all the
different formalities, and then once it started, every time I went there to have a look,
every few months, I could not believe my eyes, the speed, the efficiency, the
dedication and of course all the juggling that had to be done. Last but not least I would like to mention the lovely
statue of two butterflies the emblem of PKCF, that Mrs Simin Ekramie designed for the
school, which like all her other works is original, great and beautiful to look
at.
PKCF will continue its involvement
with the school, by appointing three members to the school's board of trustees
and, like their other projects, they will continue to support its
maintenance. Also PKCF will take
care of the content and furnishing
of the school library in the coming year, no doubt it will be another great
example of the good and hard work that PKCF does in Iran and may others learn
from it and believe that here the highest standards can be attained. Well done PKCF once
again!
I have some pictures for you taken
during the18 months that this school was being built and all the changes that
came about to make this modern delightful school that one would love ones' own
children to go to learn and be educated as
modern young ladies in modern times.
Please check the PKCF web site to
become more familiar with all the great work that they do: http://www.pkcf.com/
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