Jolie-funded Afghanistan school to welcome 800 girls

Washington, Mar 17 (ANI): The primary school for girls, which Angelina Jolie funded in Tangi, Afghanistan, is all set to open its doors to 800 students, according to a UNHCR statement.

Jolie, the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, visited a refugee settlement in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province and donated a whopping 75,000 dollars toward the school's construction.

The facility features eight classrooms, a well and eight latrines, and is set to begin classes next Monday, when their school year begins.

Although UNICEF built classrooms in the area accommodating 1300 students two years ago, many parents hesitated, for cultural reasons, to send their daughters to a school also used by boys.

"I always had hopes and dreams of going to school. The hope to become a qualified teacher has revived in me," Us magazine quoted a 14-year-old girl named Laila, as expressing her excitement about the new school.

Igbal Azizi, head of the region's provincial education, stressed the importance of Jolie's gift, saying that Tangi girls, "otherwise would have been deprived of education."

However, Jolie, filming 'The Tourist' in Venice, Italy, failed to make it for the new school's celebration. (ANI)