As the month of Mehr approaches, the first thing that occupies our minds is the joy of children and the new life they have embarked on. Every year, as these children enter higher grades, this new life becomes more vibrant. However, the necessity of this new life undoubtedly includes free and appropriate education that should be available to children regardless of their gender, race, or religion. Nevertheless, there have been many years (and it is better to say since the beginning of the 20th century in Iran) where this right has only been limited to mere words or, in the most optimistic scenario, a few lines and has not gone beyond that.

The right to free and appropriate education, which all children should have equal access to, also varies depending on the living conditions of children in cities or villages, and even within remote villages, it differs from villages in central provinces. In such a way that in the villages of Sistan and Baluchestan province, not even a trace of this fundamental right can be seen, and it remains mostly as a bitter joke. There, the only thing that can be seen is the deprivation of children from education, which is a shame in the 21st century, especially in a country that is considered wealthy due to its natural resources. A place where children have not received any share of this great wealth.

Following the emphasis on this natural right, after talking to a few concerned teachers, it was decided to take a small step for these children. The initial goal was to provide school supplies for one year for the children. After conducting research, the Iran Shahr district in Sistan and Baluchestan province was targeted and a public call was made to provide writing materials for approximately 1,200 students. This would alleviate the burden of these expenses from the families for at least one year. Fortunately, this initiative was met with unprecedented support from the citizens. Many of the donations were in the amounts of ten, twenty-five, and fifty thousand tomans, which showed that despite all the economic struggles and hardships, the underprivileged class of society still supported free education for their children with all their might. This great project was completed with the help of teachers and workers who themselves were under heavy economic and livelihood pressures, but did not hesitate to accompany these children and bring smiles to their faces. The project

Although there are and have been activists who criticize this work and read it benevolently and out of compassion with radicalism. These criticisms come while these very individuals who advocate for free and universal education for children have forgotten that accompanying these children and their families, who have been forgotten by the administrative and political system, is one of the main responsibilities of this group of social activists who claim to have concerns for the people. They cannot understand the people, their region, their way of life, and their beliefs, with the claim that this is the duty of the government or with an ultra-radical view that these people should be left alone to protest against their living conditions, and these actions hinder these protests. In many of these areas, a large number of students drop out in sixth grade. In their rural areas, it is rare to see a girl who has studied beyond sixth grade, and boys mostly drop out due to lack of educational and welfare facilities and distance from the city; even the coronavirus has

Having such a request, which is based on the protest of these people without any knowledge of them and the fact that the issue of education for children in these areas is insignificant for girls, takes place; where many of the girls living there are condemned to child marriage at a young age; therefore, without knowledge and experience of life with these people and accepting their cultural and social realities, one cannot claim such a concern, and these types of criticisms can only be considered virtual and narrow-minded, which only strike at social and collective welfare, without taking a step alongside and with these deprived individuals.

In line with this concern for free and appropriate education, this project was initiated and in the short term program, which aimed to provide the necessary supplies for one year for these children, as mentioned, despite the initial goal of covering 2530 students, ultimately 2530 students were covered. The plan was to be able to take steps towards building schools and providing suitable educational facilities for these children after completing the first phase and inspecting the area – especially remote villages. At the same time as implementing the first phase and due to the positive reception of the work that was being done and identifying some of the remote villages that lacked suitable buildings for schools, the decision was made to build three containers. Due to the difficulty of access to these villages and the inability to transport the containers there, the containers were transferred to the villages in pieces; also, due to the lack of electricity, we installed welding machines and generators, which in total were able to accommodate fifty-five students, including twenty-seven girls and twenty

Although this project does not solve the problem of lack of free and suitable education, it should not be forgotten that this small step, if it can lead to the continuation of education for even one of these 2530 students in the future, will be a great step towards promoting education in that region. Because undoubtedly, if these children can achieve higher levels of education, they will be much more effective than others who come from more remote areas.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is that the visitors from outside these remote areas have a greater and more tangible understanding of the living conditions in these areas. The type of life that exists in these villages, where people continue to live without even the most basic health and welfare facilities, is vastly different from the dominant culture seen in cities and social media. It is essentially incomparable; especially in remote rural areas where the majority of girls only attend school until sixth grade and are forced into early marriages during their teenage years. This strict traditional mindset is so evident that besides schoolgirls, other girls are not even seen. Therefore, alongside the demand for free and appropriate education, compulsory education must also be included. Without making education compulsory, it will be impossible to overcome these deep-rooted prejudices, and the only hope for raising the cultural and educational level in these areas is through free, appropriate, and compulsory education.