Give The Gift of a Mini-Library of Books and Educational Games to an Afghan Refugee Child!

Did you know that February 14th was both Valentine’s Day (in the U.S.) and also International Book Giving Day?

The mEducation Alliance wants to provide mini-libraries of print and digital children’s books (کتابخانه or کتابتون ) in Dari, Pashto (the official languages spoken in Afghanistan) and English to Afghan families in the United States. 

Why: Afghan children, like all children, have the right to access books at home, libraries, and in other locations. Research has shown that literacy levels for kids surges at 80 books, underscoring that being surrounded by lots and lots of books where they live helps a child build vocabulary, increase awareness and comprehension, and expand horizons — all benefiting them in adulthood, according to this study and reflected in this article. 

Empirical evidence also underscores the importance of home language resources for English Language Learners. Through access to these mini-libraries they’ll develop a higher self-confidence in sharing feelings and emotions. Reading can spark their imagination and stimulate their curiosity. While books also will help their brain, social skills and communication skills develop throughout their life.

How to Help

Help us build a mini-library collection of approximately 25 early grade books in Dari, Pashto, and English!

For the Dari and Pashto language titles, we’ve pulled these from the 100’s of free and digital early grade titles on the mEducation Alliance’s Afghan Kids Support Hub site. Through our partnerships with HP and NABU, a number of these digital titles have been converted to print. Starting mid-May 2022, 10,000 copies of these children’s books will be disseminated through a network of institutional partners, with half of the titles sent to the District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia area, and the other half distributed in California. 

For the English language titles, we will purchase new pre-primary/primary leveled books selected by an expert panel of individuals and organizations with deep familiarity with children’s literacy and drawing inspiration from books recommended by the American Library Association , through the Library of Congress’ Center for the Books, and organizations such as Bring Me A Book.

Along with the print titles in the mini-library collections, we will also disseminate low-cost educational games (e.g., dice and card deck-based, chess sets and other tabletop games) and access to accompanying instructions in Dari, Pashto and English as part of our Math Game Youth Ambassadors initiative.

Among other collaborators, we will work with an extensive network of refugee-serving organizations, faith-based institutions, libraries, Rotarians, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) communities to disseminate the mini-libraries to Afghan refugee families.

Give Any Amount Large or Small in Honor of your Valentine!

We want to develop and distribute 2,000 mini-libraries. Our goal is to raise $500 for each mini-library, which will include:

  • 4 print volumes of 12 children’s stories in either Dari and/or Pashto
  • English language children’s books
  • A kid-friendly tablet with 100s of digital books and apps including the free collections on our Afghan Kids Support Hub web page
  • Educational games and associated training (e.g, math games)
  • Connections to a variety of literacy and math-serving organizations
  • Expanding our Afghan Kids Support Hub efforts

Want to donate funding for a complete mini-library, make other in-kind contributions, become an Afghan Kids Support Hub (AKSH) sponsor, and/or request more information, please contact us at [email protected].

For information on this fundraising campaign in Dari and Pashto, please click the links below for translated material: 

Collaborating Partners

Learn more about our connected Signature Activities

Afghan Kids Support Hub

A variety of free reading material in Dari and Pashto available
Click Here

Math Power!

Math Game Ambassadors: Youth teaching other youth about math games
Click Here

Literacy League

Featuring literacy app developers with free content in numerous languages
Click Here

#InspirationSTEM

Inspiring young girls to pursue STEM education and careers through flight
Click Here

The Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes. Initially formed in 2010, the mEducation Alliance is a unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts. For more information about the Alliance, including about our signature activities, visit the organization web page. Read Full Disclosure and Policy Statement Here

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Jax Chaudhry

Jax Chaudhry leads Project Invent, a national nonprofit that empowers youth with future ready mindsets for individual success and global impact, through invention. Originally from the Southside of Chicago, Jax loves working with students, families and partners to ensure every student can attain success as they define it. For more than 10 years, she has worked with elementary schools, high schools, education nonprofits and led regional teams and operations to ensure student success.

Michael Leventhal

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning scienceMichael Leventhal is co-founder of RobotsMali, a pedagogical and AI4D laboratory and STEM education center in Bamako, Mali. RobotsMali has trained thousands of students from elementary school to high school in computer science, robotics, and artificial intelligence, coached national robotics teams that have won 32 medals in international competitions, and developed technologies using AI and robotics for the social and economic development of Mali. Before becoming an educator in Mali, Michael worked as a technologist in Silicon Valley.s, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.

Enouce Ndeche

Enouce Ndeche is the founder and Director of Vijana Amani Pamoja ,VAP a community scheme based in Nairobi Kenya that uses the power and the popularity of the game of soccer/football as a catalyst for social, educational and economic empowerment.Enouce holds a degree in sociology from Egerton university and he is also the 2020 individual award recipient “Diversity and Inclusion Eminent Leader Award Enouce is also a certified Sports Philanthropy and Executive, George Washington University and is a 2023 Gratitude Network fellow.

Kenneth Y T Lim

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.