I had lunch with Doffie in Hartford recently to meet this amazing woman. Doffie told me:
Andeisha visited me in Connecticut in 2007. When we talked I learned that the children in the orphanages had no access to a library. Public schools there have none, and a public library is not accessible.
So we decided we could build one in the Mehan Orphanage – the largest of the AFCECO orphanages. What we needed was books and videos, and we needed money.
So I contacted every school in my (small) Connecticut town – and a number of churches. I suggested to them that just about everyone here has lots of children's and teen's books lying around their houses unused and unwanted. Videos as well.
The “Doffie Library” of Kabul is in AFCECO’s Mehan Orphanage – their largest orphanage.
The “Doffie Library” of Kabul is in AFCECO’s Mehan Orphanage – their largest orphanage.
I loved the idea of children helping children, so I went to the Mansfield Middle School for an invited talk. I told them about the orphanages, about the children, about Afghanistan. This school, in particular, took the library on as a project.
Doffie shipped hundreds of donated books and DVDs from the U.S. to Afghanistan.
Doffie shipped hundreds of donated books and DVDs from the U.S. to Afghanistan.
They collected several thousand books and held fundraisers for our Library Fund on the CharityHelp International website. They had fundraising parties, too.
The children of AFCECO’s Mehan orphanage are in the good hands of Andeisha Farid.
The children of AFCECO’s Mehan orphanage are in the good hands of Andeisha Farid.
The Goodwin Elementary School held a faculty-student basketball game and raised some money. St. Thomas Aquinas church collected books and videos from their parishioners.
Laptop training is offered in the Doffie Library in Kabul.
Laptop training is offered in the Doffie Library in Kabul where
children are able to stay in touch with their overseas sponsors.
A number of individuals also donated money for the library, and some anonymous Starbucks customers made nice donations in a basket placed in our local coffee hangout.
AFCECO’s Mehan Orphanage in Kabul has more girls than boys.
AFCECO’s Mehan Orphanage in Kabul has more girls than boys.
I shipped the books and videos to Kabul. The money went toward buying books in Farsi, so that the library would not be all-English. And the wonderful staff at AFCECO built a gorgeous library in the Mehan Orphanage. The whole project was done quickly.
Libraries can stand in for health clinics when there are not enough health clinics!
Libraries can stand in for health clinics when there are not enough health clinics!
One especially gratifying outcome: this library is used for everything. The children from all three Kabul orphanages read and study there, write letters and draw pictures to send to their sponsors, and use the computers which were donated.
The orphans have really taken to their Mac laptops. Doffie is a Mac aficionado.
The orphans have really taken to their Mac laptops. Doffie is a Mac aficionado.
They have birthday parties in the library. And, they regularly hold what they call "Art Parties" there as well. These parties are wondrous! The children sing and dance (in costume), put on dramas, recite poetry, and have debates.
It has turned into an all-purpose room, and all credit goes to the AFCECO staff for keeping the library so beautifully furnished, with cheerful and seasonal decorations all around.
