Canadian Charity Makes Second Large Donation of Children's Tales to Kids in Afghanistan

CALGARY (February 20, 2012) – The Institute for Cross-Cultural Exchange (ICE) recently donated over 10,000 Dari-Pashto language storybooks to educational programs for street children and orphans in Afghanistan.

ICE has partnered with three Afghan NGOs to get the books to classes for Afghan street children and orphans. The Khatiz Organization for Rehabilitation (KOR) oversaw printing of the books in Kabul and subsequently distributed them to Aschiana and Kabul Orphan Care. Aschiana (meaning ‘the nest’) received 10,000 books and provides services to working street children and their families in Afghanistan. Kabul Orphan Care received 600 books and runs orphanages in the capital.

The unique content of these colourfully illustrated books makes them important on several levels. The tales they contain, collected and retold by the late Afghan author Idries Shah, originate from the ancient storytelling tradition of Afghanistan and surrounding areas. The repatriation of these stories will revitalize a storytelling tradition disrupted by over three decades of conflict and help to curb the influence of extremism - which is incompatible with the thought patterns developed through familiarity with these tales. In addition, the stories will form a bridge between the more conservative elders who may well remember them, and the younger generation who so badly need to become literate in order to fully participate in a modern Afghanistan.

ICE has distributed the same books in English as part of its Share Literacy Canada program since 2005. The books are approved by the Afghan Ministry of Education.

“With the basic tools of education either absent, or in such short supply in Afghanistan, a book delivery of this kind couldn’t be more important for the future well-being of a child,” says ICE Director David Cottle.

Hoopoe's books have been enthusiastically reviewed by the educational media and are widely commended for their ability to help foster thinking skills, which makes them doubly effective with at-risk populations.

There is an immense need for educational materials in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is home to twelve million school-aged children, the greatest proportion of the population of any country in the world. Only 5 million have access to education, and those children lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend class often lack books and other basic materials.

Funding for this book donation was made possible by the Government of Alberta’s Community Initiatives Program and ICE’s P.K. Page Irwin Book Fund for Children.

ICE (www.iceeducation.org) is an all-volunteer Canadian charity that addresses children’s literacy and promotes understanding between cultures. This is the second delivery of new, high quality books in ICE’s Share Literacy Afghanistan program. In addition to the more than 16,000 Dari-Pashto books donated so far in Afghanistan, ICE has donated over 62,000 English Hoopoe books Canada-wide.

For more information about the book donation and Share Literacy Afghanistan, please contact Andrew Boden (tel. 604-421-3743), andboden@gmail.com. For information about ICE or Hoopoe Books, please contact: David Cottle (403-313-2796), director@iceeducation.org.