OUR LEGACY

Charmaghz was the largest chain of Mobile Libraries for children in Afghanistan. By 2025, we operated 17 Mobile Libraries across Kabul, including 7 Bus Libraries and 10 Van Libraries. Our Bus Libraries, staffed by female librarians, created safe spaces for reading, learning, and creative activities, primarily serving children in some of Kabul’s most disadvantaged communities. Our Van Libraries extended this reach to remote and hard-to-access areas of the city, ensuring that even the most isolated neighborhoods had access to educational opportunities. Together, these Mobile Libraries fostered literacy and critical thinking, particularly for girls who faced significant barriers to education.

Through the Mobile Libraries, children were supported to build basic literacy and numeracy skills while also engaging in art activities, developing open-mindedness, thinking critically, and cultivating a love of reading. Across all activities, Charmaghz utilized trauma-informed approaches to support children in processing distress and grief, experiences that have affected nearly every Afghan child.

Since 2018, our Mobile Libraries have reached over one million child visitors, including 52 percent girls. Operating in one of the most challenging contexts in the world, particularly over the last four years under the de facto government, we continued to bring learning to children while sustaining a team of over 80 staff members, 82% of whom were women. Beyond facilitating learning activities, our Librarians also led community outreach efforts, engaging local leaders and families and reinforcing the importance of literacy and education, creating an impact that extended well beyond the Mobile Libraries themselves.

Following a successful pilot phase that received overwhelmingly positive feedback from children and families, the Book Lending Program was officially launched in early 2024. The program addressed a critical gap, particularly for Afghan girls who had been banned from attending school. By allowing children to take books home, it supported continued learning beyond the Mobile Libraries, nurturing a love for reading and independent education. By the end of the year, there were 6,000 borrowers, with 64 percent of them being girls.

In 2024, the Book Lending Program was expanded across all 17 Mobile Libraries, including both buses and vans, ensuring children across Kabul could borrow books to take home.

Looking ahead, we had envisioned further expansion through work in other provinces such as Bamyan, as well as the introduction of in-person book clubs for girls, designed to foster connection, leadership, and deeper engagement with literature. With the closure of our Mobile Libraries, running these clubs through buses and vans was no longer possible. However, in 2025, we launched Parkhan, our online book club program, which continues this vision by creating space for girls to read, reflect, and learn together. Learn more about Parkhan here.