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January 2008
Library for
Afghan Orphanages
Children in
Afghanistan
are exposed to a very hostile and poisonous environment, at school, home and
outside. School books, newspapers and magazines, TVs and movies all have few
things in common that are unhealthy for children. Through the various media,
children are “taught” to believe in the ideas of Islamic extremists and to
ignore their terrible atrocities. They
are not encouraged to read and listen to materials that engage the person in
activities which could be felt as a threat to the extremists.
Indian drama, widely available, is akin to intellectual and
emotional sleeping pills and have addicted nearly every person in
Afghanistan,
even small children as the whole family sits in front of the TV ever day from
6:00 pm until 10:00 pm. The content of
these programs mainly centers on disputes within very wealthy Indian families
and issues related to large businesses that fill the minds and hearts of the
Afghan people with materials hat have barely the slightest relation to their
real lives. Ignorant and uneducated
people who don’t have access to safe media and the Internet are unable to learn
the realities in their own country. And
this, of course, pleases the religious extremists, terrorists, the drug mafia
and warlords who have control over everything in
Afghanistan
because they never feel resistance of even reasonable questions from the
sleeping masses.
Textbooks, newspapers, and magazines are harmful to children
in a different way. These printed media
are filled with violent content and are fully controlled by the powerful
extremists, Islamic groups like the “
Northern Alliance,”
Taliban, warlords, drug mafia, and armed gangs. For example, Sayaff, a notorious criminal jihadist was appointed to
compile the school books funded by the
University of
Nebraska
or US-printed schoolbooks which teach the alphabet by using such examples as J
for Jihad, K for Kalashnikov, and I for Infidel. (I Is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in
Afghanistan
by Kathy Gannon)
Besides the obvious needs for food, shelter, and education,
Afghan children need to be kept safe from exposure to such unhealthy ideas and
from the “trash” that passes for entertainment on television and in videos. A good library can make an enormous
difference in this regard, as the children would have ready access to good
books, magazines, movies, and the Internet. And they would learn to look for interesting and accurate information
from these sources.
The administration of RAWA’s orphanages has designed a plan
for a well-equipped library with the budget shown in the table below:
|
|
|
Unit
|
Qty
|
Unit Cost
|
Total
| |
A.
One-Time Costs
| |
A.1
|
Books for children
|
Piece
|
800
|
$5.5
|
$4,400
| |
A.2
|
Reference books and dictionaries
|
piece
|
80
|
$15.0
|
$1,200
| |
A.3
|
DVDs
|
piece
|
300
|
$4.0
|
$1,200
| |
A.4
|
DVD player
|
piece
|
1
|
$130.0
|
$130
| |
A.5
|
TV
|
piece
|
1
|
$380.0
|
$380
| |
A.6
|
Sound system
|
piece
|
1
|
$160.0
|
$160
| |
A.7
|
Furniture (shelves, tables, chairs
and..)
|
piece
|
1
|
$1,800.0
|
$1,800
| |
A.8
|
Multimedia Projector
|
piece
|
1
|
$570.0
|
$570
| |
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
|
$9,840
| |
A.9
|
Travel costs from
Kabul to
Iran for purchasing Farsi books, movies and etc
|
per trip
|
1
|
$1,300
|
$1,300
| |
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
|
$11,140
| |
B.
On-going Costs
| |
B.1
|
Librarian Salary
|
per month
|
12
|
$150
|
$1,800
| |
B.2
|
Rent
|
per month
|
12
|
$200
|
$2,400
| |
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
|
$4,200
| |
|
Total Costs
|
|
|
|
$15,340
|
You can aid this effort! If you are a current sponsor,
you can log into your account
and make a one-time variable amount donation designating the RAWA Library
Fund. You can also visit https://www.charityhelp.org/rawa/donation/donations
and go to the bottom of the page for a one-time variable donation. Please
remember to designate the RAWA Library Fund if you want to support this effort!
Your contribution to this library will be highly appreciated
and can create a healthy environment for the Afghan children living in RAWA’s
orphanages.
Thanking you in advance,
Amena
RAWA
www.rawa.org
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