Courtesy UK Ministry of Defence
As Musa Qal'ah begins to stabilise, local children are getting the chance of an education thanks to the British forces' Military Stabilisation Support Team (MSST) who have been helping refurbish schools in and around the town.
Musa Qal'ah was not so long ago considered the most dangerous place in Helmand. But the school in Musa Qal'ah district centre, a building that two years ago lay derelict, is now full of children playing football and other playground games.
The MSST have provided the support for local contractors to bring the schools in and around Musa Qal'ah up to a suitable condition for educating children.
The upgraded school in the town centre now has its own water tower, provided by the employment and development programme of the MSST. This gives the school its own dedicated water supply.
Lieutenant Colin Boud, Royal Navy, Officer Commanding of the MSST in Musa Qal'ah, said:
"We have provided the desks and chairs for the schools. Initially we supplied the stationery for them but over time the Afghan Ministry of Education have been able to take over that role.
"It's been a learning process for the school management, looking ahead and planning for the school's future requirements.
"There have been occasions when the school has run out of text books or other items of stationery; it's at these times when we have gone back to help them out."
Warrant Officer Class 2 Michael Bates, the Second-in-Command of the MSST, added:
"We have just refurbished the schools in Yatenshir and Minden. Before this there was no education in these areas; now there are approximately 700 children attending these schools.
"They are thriving and proving very successful."
The school in the centre of Musa Qal'ah, which opens out into the main bazaar, accepts children from the age of four years old. It then takes them through their schooling for up to twelve years, where on graduation they have the option to go on to university.
Musa Qal'ah boasts 35 registered teachers with a further 11 working in the smaller villages around the main town. The school in the district centre has 1,787 students.
Abdul Asiq is a primary school teacher working in Musa Qal'ah's main school. He said:
"When President Karzai took over I was in Now Zad in the 11th grade at school; I moved to Lashkar Gah to finish my training and graduated - I then became a teacher.
"I have been teaching in Musa Qal'ah for two years.
"The British have helped us, if they weren't here we could not have built up the school. It is with their help that we have schools back here."
However, standing in the schoolyard and the classroom you cannot help but notice the lack of girls in attendance.
Musa Qal'ah is essentially a country town and, while the locals enjoy the security provided by the Afghan National Police and Army, and the growth of its bazaar, their conservative values still prevent girls from attending school.
Related Sites:
UK Defence News - Afghanistan