Provide Books to 30,000 Children in Afghanistan

Dear all,

Thank you for the generous donation that enabled us to begin this wonderful project to produce books for children in Afghanistan.

We are excited to share with you all our progress report and let you know what we did during this reporting period.

# Project Summary

This project targets the most vulnerable, marginalized and underprivileged children in Afghanistan who are deprived of reading materials with proper contents in their mother tongue. The project will publish 30,000 copies of 5 storybooks in three languages (Farsi-Dari, Pashto and Uzbeki languages; 15 books in total) and make them available for children in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan through the network ABLE libraries. With the donations we have received so far, we started working on a book (Man wa Nihal[Me and the Plant]) in three languages mentioned above. As soon as the final draft is ready, 6,000 copies of the books will be printed and made ready for distribution.

# What is the Storybook About? 

The storybook is titled Man Wa Nihal [Me and the Plant] and is written by one of the well-known children’s authors, Parween Pajwak. The main character of the story is a 6-year-old girl who lives with her parents in a village in Afghanistan. She does not have many friends and wishes to find someone to play with. One day, a plant in her garden responds to her and becomes her friend. Through this new friend, she learns a lot about nature and its importance in human life. As time passes by, she learns to respect and protect the environment.

# Illustration and Layout

In the second phase, the preliminary layout and illustration was completed. During this phase, ABLE team worked closely with the illustrator and composer to finalize the illustration and layout of the book. All illustrations were shared with author and other members of the assessment committee. The members provided their comments and all changes were considered in each illustration before the finalization.

# Translation of the Storybook in Pashto and Uzbeki Languages

As soon as the manuscript was finalized in the Farsi-Dari language, it was shared with the Pashto and Uzbeki translators, who were able to translate it in the given timeframe and submit it back to us. The Pashto and Uzbeki language manuscripts have been edited, proofread and finalized for the printing. 

# Camera-Ready Copy of the Storybook in Three Languages

The camera-ready of the book in Farsi-Dari, Pashto and Uzbeki languages were finalized after the last editing and proofreading. Before making the manuscript in each language camera-ready, it was reviewed by the expert editors and commentators in order to make it more acceptable for the targeted age group children. Some words and phrases were changed after the final editing, which has modified a story narrative a little bit. The final version of the manuscript in all three languages is now more easy to read and understandable for children.

# Printing of the Storybook in Farsi-Dari, Pashto and Uzbeki Languages

The storybook in all three languages have been printed and delivered at the ACKU office. A total of 6,000 copies of the books were printed (2,000 copies in each language).

# Plan for the Next Quarter 

The storybooks will be widely disseminated all over Afghanistan through the network of 277 ABLE libraries and by the help of other relevant stakeholders.

Links:

• https://acku.edu.af/category/our-programs/able/
• https://acku.edu.af/product-category/e-portal/