Mullah Kareem Nazar School, Faryab Province
In 2004, Barakat co-founder Habibullah Karimi's family donated three acres of land for the construction of this school. Construction ended in 2005, at a cost of a little more than $83,000. Until then, the school for 50 boys and 36 girls was operated in Mr. Karimi's house. Today, the school is administrated by Barakat but works with the government of Afghanistan to ensure that graduating students are eligible for government examinations and to apply for government jobs. Currently the school includes grades 1-4, with plans to expand to 9th grade and increase enrollment to 500 students.
Mullah Kareem Nazar was a rich businessman in Afghanistan, and Habibullah Karimi’s father, who died in 1986, when the Russians were fighting the Mujahideen. The school is named in his memory.
The Mullah Kareem Nazar School is currently equipped with nine classrooms and two restrooms with showers for faculty. There are ten bathrooms for students, five for girls and five for boys. Drinking water is bought and stored in the school because groundwater in the region is not potable.
Besh Kapa Surkh School, Jowzjan Province
Barakat's second school in Afghanistan is the Besh Kapa Surkh School in the Jowzjan district. Construction for this school also began in 2004 on one acre of land that was donated by a local resident. At the cost of approximately $92,000, construction was completed in May of 2007, and the school was operational less than a month later. Besh Kapa Surkh serves students through 7th grade and intends to expand through 9th grade.
The school is named after two neighboring villages: Besh Kapa Village and Surkh Village. There are 317 students enrolled at this school, 38 of whom are girls. The school is equipped with nine classrooms and two restrooms with showers for teachers. There are ten bathrooms, five for girls and five for boys. Water is brought by tankers once a week and stored in a water depot in the school.