School of the Deaf - Kabul, Afghanistan
Donation protected
The School of the Deaf in Kabul is one of just a very few deaf schools in Afghanistan. For over 20 years Parween Azimi and Abdul Gafar have been working tirelessly to educate deaf children in Afghanistan.
The School of the Deaf is run by the deaf. Abdul Gafar, the school’s director, is deaf and blind. The school trains and employs individuals who were once students, half of the teachers are deaf themselves so empathy and understanding run deep.
The global pandemic has reduced the amount of development resources available to places like Afghanistan. Funding for this school will run out in December 2020. Our goal is to expand, improve and stabilize operations of the school for years to come.
Our fundraising goal is $20,000 USD. 100% of our goal will go directly to the school in Kabul. The funds will be used in a number of ways.
- Teaching materials. Writing, drawing and painting materials and books. If we exceed our first fundraising goal then projectors, screens and tablets.
- Establish after school programs including art, life-skills, literacy, and IT. Establish child and youth-led organizations (sport clubs, junior farmer clubs and disaster response teams).
- Renovate classrooms. Winter can be very cold in Afghanistan and none of the classrooms have heat. We will install rugs and carpets in the class rooms for the younger children so they can be more comfortable during nap time.
- Transportation of 50 income-poor Deaf children to and from school. The school provides transport for children who live in more remote areas. Some children travel as much as two hours each way to attend the school.
- Renovation of the school grounds to include a school garden for both recreation and learning purposes.
- Production of 500 printed and visual sign language dictionaries.
Any additional funding and resources will be used to expand above programs and support the school’s strategic goals of increasing outreach to wider regions of Afghanistan and to provide resources, such as vocational training, for deaf people of all ages.
—
I’ve been working in Afghanistan since 2004. The hospitality and friendship of the Afghan people has been unwavering and why I return year after year to volunteer my time as a photographer and filmmaker. I learned of the school in 2019 and wanted to share their bright and hopeful story and support them in some way.
Follow the progress of this project here and on a newly created social media channel. https://www.instagram.com/deaf.school.kabul/
We understand that funds are tight for everyone these days. Just sharing this film and the campaign with your networks would be a huge help in finding more support.
Feel free to contact me directly with any questions and a detailed breakdown of individual project costs.
Thank you. Nigel
Links
More about Nigel's work -
http://www.walkerfilm.com
UPDATE Friday 1st October 2021. The school is operational for girls and boys for grade 1-6, and for boys grade 7 and above, while we are still waiting for older girls to get permission to study. The funds raised will make a big difference in these childrens lives especially right now. We are not giving up hope of providing education to all our students however we can. We are sending a team to the school next week to get more detailed information.
UPDATE Friday 20th 2021. Thanks for all the messages, it's very hard for me to reply given my current situation in Kabul. The school will continue to educate the children and will be open in the next few days, perhaps sooner. After being closed for most of the summer the children were back in school last Sunday [August 15th]. With the funds already raised we were able to deliver stationaries and crayons and had a workshop about the environment for 60 children. I was on my way to the school when the whole city went into gridlock as the Taliban approached. I had to turn around for security reasons and the last few days has been chaos. This school however will continue to be open.
The School of the Deaf is run by the deaf. Abdul Gafar, the school’s director, is deaf and blind. The school trains and employs individuals who were once students, half of the teachers are deaf themselves so empathy and understanding run deep.
The global pandemic has reduced the amount of development resources available to places like Afghanistan. Funding for this school will run out in December 2020. Our goal is to expand, improve and stabilize operations of the school for years to come.
Our fundraising goal is $20,000 USD. 100% of our goal will go directly to the school in Kabul. The funds will be used in a number of ways.
- Teaching materials. Writing, drawing and painting materials and books. If we exceed our first fundraising goal then projectors, screens and tablets.
- Establish after school programs including art, life-skills, literacy, and IT. Establish child and youth-led organizations (sport clubs, junior farmer clubs and disaster response teams).
- Renovate classrooms. Winter can be very cold in Afghanistan and none of the classrooms have heat. We will install rugs and carpets in the class rooms for the younger children so they can be more comfortable during nap time.
- Transportation of 50 income-poor Deaf children to and from school. The school provides transport for children who live in more remote areas. Some children travel as much as two hours each way to attend the school.
- Renovation of the school grounds to include a school garden for both recreation and learning purposes.
- Production of 500 printed and visual sign language dictionaries.
Any additional funding and resources will be used to expand above programs and support the school’s strategic goals of increasing outreach to wider regions of Afghanistan and to provide resources, such as vocational training, for deaf people of all ages.
—
I’ve been working in Afghanistan since 2004. The hospitality and friendship of the Afghan people has been unwavering and why I return year after year to volunteer my time as a photographer and filmmaker. I learned of the school in 2019 and wanted to share their bright and hopeful story and support them in some way.
Follow the progress of this project here and on a newly created social media channel. https://www.instagram.com/deaf.school.kabul/
We understand that funds are tight for everyone these days. Just sharing this film and the campaign with your networks would be a huge help in finding more support.
Feel free to contact me directly with any questions and a detailed breakdown of individual project costs.
Thank you. Nigel
Links
More about Nigel's work -
http://www.walkerfilm.com
UPDATE Friday 1st October 2021. The school is operational for girls and boys for grade 1-6, and for boys grade 7 and above, while we are still waiting for older girls to get permission to study. The funds raised will make a big difference in these childrens lives especially right now. We are not giving up hope of providing education to all our students however we can. We are sending a team to the school next week to get more detailed information.
UPDATE Friday 20th 2021. Thanks for all the messages, it's very hard for me to reply given my current situation in Kabul. The school will continue to educate the children and will be open in the next few days, perhaps sooner. After being closed for most of the summer the children were back in school last Sunday [August 15th]. With the funds already raised we were able to deliver stationaries and crayons and had a workshop about the environment for 60 children. I was on my way to the school when the whole city went into gridlock as the Taliban approached. I had to turn around for security reasons and the last few days has been chaos. This school however will continue to be open.
Organizer
Nigel Walker
Organizer
Mill Valley, CA
