Charmaghz is the largest chain of libraries for children in Afghanistan. We operate 26 mobile libraries, including five bus libraries, one van library and 20 mobile library boxes, to welcome children into a safe, supportive, and creative environment. While visiting our libraries, children are supported to build basic literacy and numeracy skills, but also to engage in art activities, have an open-mind, think critically, and to develop a love of reading. Across all of our activities, we utilize trauma-informed approaches that support children to process the distress and grief that nearly every Afghan has experienced. Since 2018, Charmaghz’s libraries have been visited over half a million times and about half of visitors are girls.
We work in some of Kabul’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, including Hazara communities and urban slums, where many children are facing extreme poverty, discrimination, and the fear of attacks on schools. Despite these barriers, families value and recognize the critical importance of education, and we are committed to supporting their children. Our mobile libraries are staffed by trained Librarians (75% of whom are women), who also conduct community-outreach activities to reach local leaders and families with key messages on the importance of literacy and education.
In 2023, Charmaghz is launching a new Literacy and Numeracy Program in three education centers in Kabul that will support 540 primary school girls to master basic reading, writing, and math skills. The program has been developed following a year of consultations with international literacy experts and peer implementers and will respond to the crisis of poor quality education that Afghan children–in particular girls–are currently receiving in public schools. The program will also provide students with tailored psychosocial assistance to support their holistic well-being.
