A Refuge for Young Afghan Children

I love the smile on a child’s face, and I enjoy hearing the sound of a hearty laughter when I pass by the primary school in my Boston neighborhood. I am running a half-marathon to support the nonprofit called Charmaghz, a mobile library in Kabul that brings the same joy children experience here to children in my original hometown of Kabul.


In the middle of a decades-long war that continues to take lives and hopes everyday, Charmaghz reaches out to children who have been robbed of their chance to read stories such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty! Seriously, what is better than reading Cinderella when the dust, smoke and news of casualties surround you all the time? Well, there is an argument to be made for Charlotte’s Web, or One Thousand and One Nights but you know what I mean: Charmaghz is a sanctuary for children of Kabul, a place where children can be children.


I am running The Chicago Half Marathon, even though I have never run a half marathon before, to raise funds for this blue bus that serves 300 children every day.

I am training hard these days because I have never run before. Girls didn’t play sports when I was a child growing up in Kabul. In fact, if it weren't for the support of my community, especially the strong women around me, I would have remained uneducated when the Taliban banned schools for girls during their dark regime. I understand the desire of a child to play, read, and be curious, because I have felt it. And I am so thankful that I got to spend time with books at a time when the outside world didn’t want me to.


Please help me raise $10,000 so that we can buy new books, solar panels and a ventilation system that would keep the young, curious visitors happy and healthy during the hot days of summer and cold days of winter in Kabul. Your donations will also sustain Charmaghz for the remainder of 2018! Thankfully, much has changed in Afghanistan but nearly a third of Afghan children still cannot go to school, and children’s libraries remain elusive luxuries.  


Every day, this resurrected blue bus travels around Kabul and gives 300 children a chance at being children, and a place to grow. I am working hard to prepare for the Chicago Half, and your donations would energize and motivate me to the successfully run it.

This page will be open until September 30! 100% of the raised money will go to Charmaghz. If you have any further questions please ask!

Thank you,
Manizha

Read more about Charmaghz on Reuters, Voice of America, ThinkProgress, and Charmaghz .