StayIN – Education is here to stay!

An interview with the board of StayIN, Schekeba Jentsch

Various NGOs are trying to help the people of Afghanistan. What sets StayIN apart from the other NGOs – what is special about StayIN?

Our goal as an NGO in Afghanistan is to minimize the brain drain and to use the intellectual capacity that the country has available for its own economic and social development. We want the population to develop a livable, economically relatively independent society through its own efforts. In this way, we want to offer young people in the country in particular a long-term perspective and give them the opportunity to shape their future in Afghanistan.

How did the idea of ​​​​advocating for education in Afghanistan come about?

Our organization has developed an app for the German education system that is intended to help students without family support. In cooperation with parents, the school authorities and the schools, mentors are sought who, after a jointly developed selection process, support the students via an online platform. When presenting this project at an event on education promotion, we were asked whether this project could also be applied in Afghanistan. After networking with various NGOs in Afghanistan and determining the specific educational needs, we decided to introduce the dual education system based on the German model in Afghanistan.

What projects or project ideas are StayIN currently pursuing?

We offer a comprehensive business management program for women and have developed an electrical engineering training course as a prototype for the introduction of the dual training system. In addition, we have set up the StayIN International Training Center, where lecturers from all over the world conduct online seminars for women in the field of business management.

What successes have been achieved so far?

We have achieved several significant successes so far. Firstly, we have built up a network in Afghanistan and are cooperating closely with a local NGO. We have successfully networked with authorities, industry and educational institutions and gained their willingness to help establish the dual training system. In Kabul, we were able to develop the project idea for the business management program for women together with active female entrepreneurs. Partial funding was approved by the Schmitz Foundation for the implementation of this project.

For our electrical training project, Professor Klaffke provided us with his successful work in Oman in 2010 as an introduction; according to this introduction, the standards for the dual training system have largely been implemented. The start of the first electrical engineering training course is planned for 2025 with 50 participants.

The StayIN International Training Center (SITC) started in January and already organizes monthly seminars with 70 to 100 participants.

What are the biggest difficulties in implementing the planned projects?

One of the biggest difficulties in implementing our projects is the recognition of our work as an NGO for Afghanistan in Germany. Another major challenge is identifying funding opportunities and securing financial resources for our projects. In addition, we often have to deal with the refusal of German institutions to fund our projects. Another obstacle is working with highly qualified, very busy volunteers from our organization and the NGOs in Afghanistan, which brings with it logistical and organizational challenges.

What further plans does StayIN have for the next few years?

In the next few years, we plan to make our “Business Management for Women” project permanent and to make it an annual event. In addition, we want to tackle more projects for women in the health sector. Another important project is the introduction of a second vocational training course in the dual education system, namely in mechanical engineering. We have set ourselves the goal of introducing another vocational training course in this area every two years.

Originally posted 2024-07-20 14:40:38.