There are 10,000 children in Afghanistan who have no communication with the world. They are left to lead lives of solitude, without the opportunity for education, or often, work. These children have committed no crime, they have nothing to be ashamed of — they are deaf.
The deaf community is treated much like the female community in Afghanistan. It is not fully believed that these groups deserve to be educated. Having already been working to improve opportunities for women and girls in regions of conflict, the Colorado-based nonprofit Mountain2Mountain (M2M) has expanded its reach to deaf children of both sexes in Afghanistan.
“With the deaf, it’s beyond dire,” said M2M founder and president, Shannon Galpin, in the Huffington Post. “They have no access to education because there is no sign language, there is no communication.”
Together with the Afghan National Association for the Deaf (ANAD), Mountain2Mountain broke ground Tuesday on a new school for the deaf in Kabul. On the five acres of land donated by the Karzai government in April, the building will be constructed using green, sustainable technologies and will bring jobs and renewable resources to the area.
The construction plans and materials are provided by International Home Finance and Development and InnoVida Holdings. The companies are working together to bring energy-efficiency and environmentally sound development to the country.
The school is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. It will be comprised of both a primary and secondary school, a teacher training center and will become the new headquarters for the ANAD. There, the children will be taught International Sign Language as well as a new Afghani sign language. Children will have an opportunity for agriculture training, too, with an onsite farm.
“If (deaf children) don’t go to this school, they literally have no way of learning how to communicate with anyone else,” Galpin said. “They will probably never leave the family home. The majority will not find work unless they are lucky enough to find an apprenticeship in some kind of crafts or with a mechanic.”
Through collaboration and innovation, this school for the deaf will provide opportunity where there are now only barriers.
Photos courtesy of Mountain2Mountain.