KABUL: In a society torn apart by protracted war with many people struggling simply to survive, an Afghan woman has begun a totally new campaign in Afghanistan: To revive a reading culture in the younger generation.
Affected in childhood from having very limited access to books and magazines during the civil war of the 1990s, Freshta Karim recently established a mobile library in Kabul.
“Many people in Kabul — and I was among them — lived without having enough food for many years. Those were times of extreme deprivation,” the 25 year-old Freshta told Arab News during an interview.
“At home we had 'Kamkeyan Anees,' a children's magazine which my dad bought for my older sister. I loved reading it and I read it over and over because that was all we had."
Then Freshta’s thirst for reading prompted her elder sister to tell stories and folk tales. Like tens of thousands of others, she fled to Pakistan as a refugee and returned to Afghanistan in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban.
Wearing reading glasses and a headscarf, she went to school then and, at the same time did something very unusual for Afghan girls of her age. At the age of 12, she got a job in Kabul with a TV channel.
Her thirst for education led her to India on a scholarship. This was followed years later by her gaining a Master's degree in Public Policy from Oxford University.
Along with a team of helpers, she started a mobile bus library called "charmaghz" (walnut) three weeks ago in Kabul. The reason Freshta named the project "charmaghz" is because the physical appearance of a walnut resembles a human brain and is a tribute to human logic.
“It is beyond our beliefs and expectations how people love our program. We are humbled by their response. They appreciate and support it,” she said proudly.
Since its launch, around 1,000 people — including children, parents and community members — have visited the bus which travels from one part of the city to another. Kabul has an estimated six million people but very few libraries.
Freshta's library has a capacity of 500 general knowledge books; it is financed by donations from young Afghan professionals who hope to expand it first in Kabul and then outside the city.
In addition to providing opportunties for reading, Freshta and her team want to add new programs that will include documentary screening and other activities for children. After six months of finding adequate financial support, the project will expand to other cities too.
“Like every other project, we have our challenges including financial ones. Our team members spend a huge amount of time raising funds but I think the beauty of work is to face challenges,” she said.
Since its launch, Freshta and her team have observed that Afghan children, at least in Kabul, love reading and are hard working, she said.
“They need opportunities. We create an opportunity from every crisis. We are changing our narratives in this country. As a nation, we have lost our self-confidence (because of the war.) We are now doing grass roots work that will have a great impact when we evaluate it ten years on from now.”