Update on our Work

Dear friends,

We want to share an important update about Charmaghz and what’s next for our work.

After months of reflection and assessment, our team has made the difficult decision to say goodbye to our chain of 17 Mobile Libraries that operated across Kabul and served over 40,000 children each month. This decision follows ongoing operational challenges that made it no longer feasible to continue the Libraries. This chapter of our work is coming to a close, but our mission is not.

Charmaghz will continue operating under our U.S. non-profit, The Freshta Foundation. We are in the early stages of shaping a new learning program, focused on online education for Afghan girls, that continues our commitment to Afghan children. Our core purpose remains the same: enabling access to education, nurturing critical thinking, and defending every child’s right to imagine a better future.

Since 2018, our Mobile Libraries have reached over 1 million child visitors, including 52% 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, 82% of them women. We are proud of what this journey has meant, and we know it would not have been possible without the support of our team, partners, donors, and community. You carried this work forward with us, and we are deeply grateful.

For over seven years, our Mobile Libraries brought learning into the streets of Kabul. But it was the children who brought these buses to life, filling them with questions, curiosity, and joy. This work was only possible because of the people who believed in it, stood beside it, and helped it grow. As we say goodbye to the Libraries, we carry that same energy, care, and purpose into the new program we are now building.

As we move into this next phase, we are taking time to reflect, research, and listen. We are taking time to grieve what has been lost, including the children who will be waiting for their libraries and will no longer have them, to celebrate what we have achieved in one of the most difficult times, and to allow ourselves to dream and build what comes next. We are in the ideation phase of designing what comes next, and we look forward to sharing more as this work takes shape. We plan to announce our new program by Spring 2026. We invite you to continue to follow along and be part of this next chapter.

While the format of our work may evolve, our purpose remains rooted in the belief that Afghan children deserve access to learning, dignity, and hope.

With gratitude,
Freshta Karim
On behalf of the Charmaghz team