Library bus brings books and dreams to Afghan children
Afghanistan now has one of the world's lowest literacy rates.
KABUL (Reuters) - Inside a big green bus in Afghanistan war-torn capital, dozens of children bury their heads in books, filling the air with their hushed reading voices and stringing together sentences filled with intrigue and adventure.
"Whenever I read story books in this library bus, I imagine I m in another world," says 11-year-old Farzad as he holds open a book in his lap.
The bus is one of two mobile libraries founded by Freshta Karim, a 27-year-old Afghan woman determined to ensure Afghanistan s younger generation not only get an education but also hold onto as much of their childhood as possible despite living through war.
"I was concerned about their future. I wanted to give them opportunities where they could think, they could grow, they could ask questions, and that s why this looked like a solution to me," said Karim, who spent part of her childhood as a refugee in Pakistan before returning to Kabul after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
Since 2001, the Taliban have been waging an insurgency to overthrow the western-backed government. Though peace negotiations with them have gained momentum, fighting has intensified and civilians still bear the brunt of the longstanding conflict.
According to the United Nations, 3,804 civilians - including more than 900 children - were killed and 7,000 wounded in 2018, the deadliest year for non-combatants in the conflict
Karim returned to Kabul in September 2017 after getting a Masters degree in Public Policy from Oxford University, and six months later set up Charmaghz, the non-profit organisation that runs the two mobile libraries as well as a mobile cinema.
The buses, which are rented from the government, run five days a week, stop at various schools during term time and community areas during holidays, and have about 400 visitors a day. Onboard, there are hundreds of books in Dari, Pashto and English ready to be dived into.
"It makes me extremely excited when I see them so curious, asking so many questions, being excited with little things, and having the capacity, the openness to learn," said Karim.
The vehicles are painted with colourful stars, balloons and footprints, and refurbished with shelving, desks and chairs - a luxury in a country where four in 10 schools do not even have a building, according to Human Rights Watch.
Karim hopes her project, funded by private donations, will gradually expand into nearby provinces. It s "highly important", she said, "for our children to have peace of mind, to go to school without an explosion, without the fear of a bomb blast."
While the education system has made significant gains since the Taliban era - when girls were excluded from formal education altogether - worsening security has forced many school closures.
"We have a long way to go," said Karim. "There s so much we can do, but our work is just a little drop in the ocean. All of us have to jointly work for it."
Afghanistan now has one of the world s lowest literacy rates, with only three in 10 adults able to read, according to the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO. After decades of war, more than four in 10 Afghan children are not in school, with many working to support their families, government data shows.
