Manda Karimian Farzin
was born on March 30, 1959 in Tehran. She moved to New York City at the age of 17, where she spent the next fifteen years of her life submerged in the American culture. After her marriage to Abas Farzin and because his desire to live in Iran, she decided to move back to her native country and explore its people and its landscape. Manda and her family frequently traveled throughout Iran and through this traveling she became familiar with Baluchestan and the Baluchi people. Manda started her services to these people by promoting oral health within the rural communities. She arranged dentists to teach proper oral hygiene methods and gave out free dental equipment to the communities. These activities eventually led to the establishment of Shokoofeha charity and the process of school-building. Manda unexpectedly passed away on April 29th, 2006. Her husband Abas Farzin has decided to continue her legacy of building schools in Baluchestan.

As evident from our constitution, our aim is to improve the Baluchi society, primarily by promoting education among women and children. The Baluchi people have been relatively isolated and have therefore kept many of their traditions and customs including what some would call a patriarchal dominance which has resulted in lower educational standards for women. As the region develops and becomes more modernized the freedom granted to girls for obtaining education also expands. We therefore see a higher demand for all-girls schools especially for junior high and high school years. Our aim is to build as many schools as possible, in the areas that need them the most.

Baluchestan is a land spread between southeast Iran, the western half of Pakistan, and a small part of southern Afghanistan. Baluchestan in Iran compromises the southern half of the Sistan va Baluchestan province and is one of the driest regions in Iran. The Baluchi people are Sunni Muslims and therefore a religious minority in Iran. Today Baluchestan is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped regions in Iran. The governement of Iran has been working towards the improvement of Baluchestan, but much work still needs to be done, especially in rural sectors. Baluchestan has a beautiful and unique landscape and could potentially be a one of the sight-seeing attractions of Iran.