South of Khorasan Relief Committee 

The South of Khorasan Relief Committee began its activities following the earthquake of 1997 in the villages of Qa'en and Birjand. The original purpose of the committee was to relieve the pains and respond to the basic needs of the people afflicted by the earthquake. During this stage the committee came face to face with the economic and social problems and the cultural poverty of the people in the area. For this reason, the Committee concentrated its activities on raising the level of knowledge in the community regarding children's issues. Along these lines, the Committee implemented the following projects:

1. Establishment of kindergartens

Following the earthquake, the South of Khorasan Committee established the first rural kindergartens in Abiz and Esfadan in Qa'enat. The South of Khorasan Committee of the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child has been responsible for preparing and mobilizing these two kindergartens, training instructors and running these centers. The satisfactory results and the educational progress of those children who entered elementary school after undergoing training caught the attention of educational authorities. Thus, the groundwork was laid for the establishment of kindergartens in two more villages in March 2003.

2. Assistant education

This project was implemented in order to help educate those children who were deprived of continuing their education because they lived in scattered villages. The project members, with the financial support of other members of the Society and of cultured individuals, took up the responsibility for supplying funds for room and board for children in public dormitories (Omekolsoom, Drau, Lanu, Narjes, Afareez, Parvin E'tesami, Darmian and Parvin Dolatabadi). This way, the South of Khorasn Committee has taken steps to establish and equip two girls' dormitories called Parvin E'tesami and Parvin Dolatabadi. In addition, the Committee has opened a boys' dormitory in the village of Lanu on the border strip.

Meanwhile, the committee's meetings encouraged educational authorities to start work-study courses for girls and boys, which were well received by teenagers. Today, many of the students of these courses are preparing themselves to enter university.

3. Assistance teaching

The Committee implemented this project also to help children living in scattered villages continue their education. The main goal of the project is to help children enjoy an opportunity for a higher level of educational while remaining with their families. In this project, two or three teachers were recruited and dispatched to the villages under consideration. In this way the Committee made it possible for the children of remote and scattered villages to study at secondary school level.

The establishment of the first cultural center in Esfadan and Qa'enat

The implementation of this project is another glory for the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child, made possible by the financial help of volunteers overflowing with love for children. This help facilitated the establishment of the center for students of these villages and nearby areas to enjoy educational, cultural and artistic opportunities as well as access to the library. Today, this center is one of the important cultural and educational canters in the region. Each day, 80 students make use of the books of the center.

South of Khorasan Relief Committee, Objectives

The main goals of this committee are cultural and educational development and acceleration of the fulfillment of the objectives of the Society and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in rural communities. Another goal of the project is to advance and continue uncompleted projects or activities in the villages of Southern Khorasan. Aiming to relieve the needs of underprivileged rural children and decrease the level of vulnerability among the children regarding issues such as drug addiction and smuggling, currently prevailing in the area, the Committee strives to create more suitable living conditions for children.

The immediate needs of the project include:

1-Establishing a multi-purpose hall for the cultural center, providing more books for the library and providing computer, audio and visual facilities;

2-Preparing welfare facilities for the children in the dormitories, such as health, nourishment, dorm equipment and recreational activities for their free time;

3-Building a fence around the cultural center and Golestan kindergarten in Esfadan and the Lanu dormitory in Sarbisheh and also installing bathrooms and a caretaker lodge for the cultural center and the kindergarten.

As the needs of the project are numerous and the facilities of the Society, especially its financial resources, are limited, the members of the South of Khorasan Committee welcome your contributions in advancing the objectives of the committee and sincerely shake your helping hands in implementing this project.

Proposals

1-Establishing the High Council of the Child under the supervision of the presidency in order to consolidate policy making and activities related to children and teenagers and to resolve legal and administrative problems in order to advance the goals of the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

2-Training the public on the rights of children through textbooks in schools, universities, cultural centers and rural health centers, and promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child through mass media, especially the Islamic of Republic of Iran Broadcasting;

3--Revising and improving the law to the benefit of the children;

4-Establishing safe shelters to protect children exposed to violence;

5-Clarifying and stipulating the definition of childhood in state laws according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

6-Obviating gender based discrimination in child related state laws;

7-Allocating subsidies to pre-school children, especially poor, underprivileged children;

8-Providing suitable sport and leisure time activity facilities for children and teenagers;

9-Making it mandatory for young couples to take necessary training courses before marriage and starting a family.

The South of Khorasan Relief Committee (village of Esfadan) needs your help and contribution.