The Bayat Foundation, created by Ehsan Bayat, has spearheaded a number of projects over the years to drive development in Afghanistan while also improving the quality of life for Afghan people. One of the organization’s major focuses remains education, especially girls’ education. Until recently, girls were completely excluded from the country’s education initiatives. In addition to helping girls, the foundation also supports children who do not have parents or other guardians. Orphans and refugees remain among the most vulnerable populations in Afghanistan and have thus become a priority for Ehsan Bayat.
One of the foundation’s major projects was renovating the Tahya Maskan Orphanage and Learning Center, which is located in the Parwin District of northwest Kabul. When Fatema Bayat, executive director of the foundation, visited the school, she saw the importance of providing for this neglected segment of the population. The facility had fallen into disrepair and the foundation provided the funding necessary to refurbish this important service agency. Prior to the foundation’s intervention, homeless children often attended school in classrooms with cracked walls, leaky ceilings, and major structural problems. In addition to repairs, grant money covered the cost of purchasing school equipment, notebooks, and other necessities. Authorities from the Ministry of Social Affairs recognized the contributions of the foundation upon the complete of the project.
The Bayat Foundation has also funded the Bibi Fatima Sahra School for Orphans, which is located in Maimana, a city in the northern Afghan province of Faryab. With 13,000 square feet of usable space, the school contains a dozen classrooms and conference rooms, as well as hygienic facilities and advanced drainage and electrical systems. The school has the capacity to house 350 orphans, most whom have never before attended school in a modern facility. Children from the province not staying at the school also attend class there.