Stop extremism. Teach Afghan kids to embrace peace

by Help The Afghan Children

Project Report | Apr 16, 2010
Peace education program in Afghanistan

By Stephen Perlman | Director, U.S. Operations

HTAC is proud to share the following testimonial on how our peace education program is impacting Afghan children. The letters come from paretns of enrolled children.

Dear Teacher, salaam, We are very thankful to the peace education program that is benefiting our daughter. Anahita Jan (their daughter) never took part in chores, never put her clothes in place, never helped her sisters and mother, and was always complaining. But after joining the peace education program she has changed completely. She now participates in chores around the house and knows how to keep everything clean and in its own place. She is very cooperative with her sisters and (instead of complaining), she is asking how she can be more helpful. When visitors come to our home she is cheerful and respectful. We are happy for the lessons that our daughter learned in class. She applies those lessons learned in her daily life. Regards, Anahita's parents

Hello to the peace education teacher, I am very thankful to the peace education program organizers because it has had a lot of positive effects on my son, Omar, and we are very happy that such a program is running in the school. The program has taught Omar to listen and be patient and not always fight and yell. He is much calmer now although he will still argue his point, but he does this in a respectful way. Most importantly, we see him smile more and be in a much happier mood. We think this program can help us have a good and peaceful family. Regards, Omar's father

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May 6, 2009
Peace Education update

By Stephen Perlman | Director, U.S. Operations

Afghanistan's future has always rested in the hands of each new generation of its most vulnerable citizens; its children. Yet, for almost 30 years, Afghan girls and boys have too often been the forgotten innocent victims of a never-ending cycle of violence, conflict, and terror.

The emotional trauma for children cannot be overestimated. Many Afghan children who were (and still are) exposed to violence in some way, have difficulty coping and are thus reluctant to seek the comfort from a trusting adult, including their own parents. This in turn affects their attitudes and abilities to develop positive behaviors and critical learning tools they will need if they are to become productive adults.

Help the Afghan Children (HTAC's) peace education curriculum is helping many of these children deal with the emotions and consequences of anger, fear, fighting, and sadness, while helping them embrace values such as patient, apologizing, bravery, sympathy, mediation, and mutual respect.

A new aspect of HTAC's curriculum has been the introduction of our "Journey of Peace" storybooks. Each of these 16 original, illustrated books are written in Dari, Pashto, and English. The books communicate the message of peace on a very personal level. They provide children with current, real-life examples of the challenges they often see for themselves; especially the underlying emotional trauma of witnessing or experiencing violence, while offering realistic actions children can take to help promote the healing process.

Introduced to over 1,500 students this school year, our storybooks are already beginning to help Afghan children, especially boys, better cope with their emotions, engage in positive behaviors with other students, and with the help of teachers (who also provide guidance to the parents of these children), facilitating a more trusting and nurturing home environment.

In a male-dominated society like Afghanistan, helping young boys incorporate the lessons of peace in their daily lives will go a long way in eventually moving Afghanistan away from war and violence as a country.

Attachments:

Journey of Peace storybook (PDF)

1 Attachment

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Organization Information

Help The Afghan Children

Location: Fairfax, Virginia - USA
Website: http://www.HelpTheAfghanChildren.org
Facebook: Facebook Page

Project Leader:
Stephen Perlman
Consultant, HTAC
Fairfax , Virginia United States

Funded Project!

Thanks to 60 donors like you, a total of $11,769 was raised for this project on GlobalGiving. Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.