Reportages of Balkh region VIII: Life skills

How do you make the people around you understand that a disabled child is just as capable as a child who is not disabled? This is a difficult question for many families. Especially in Afghanistan, where a disabled child is regarded as a source of shame to the family and is kept hidden away at home. With the help of foreign aid programs, some centers have been established in the bigger cities where blind, def and other disabled children are taught and given activities. Specialized and trained social workers go from home to home and to the surrounding areas to give consultations and explanations. Often the parents are amazed at how the child they thought to be stupid carefully memorizes a passage for school. Some good students go on to find a suitable job, such as a tailor or a mechanic.
Afghanistan's students appreciate the fact that they are able to go to school, especially those children who according to local tradition are regarded as hopeless member of the society. Shengan center for disabled children is a place where everyone is able to learn according to his or her ability: in one class a regular lesson is being given according to the governmental curriculum, and in another class students are being taught day to day skills – it is important to explain to people that one may be def, but still clever and able to work. In the third classroom puzzles are being put together and in the fourth classroom how to use a computer is being taught. The students dream of having the Internet and being able to communicate with children in far off schools. Unfortunately in Afghanistan this is only possible through a satellite connection, which is why it is extremely expensive.
It is rare to encounter such pure joy as the kind encountered in the Shengan center. It is wonderful to see how well the teachers and the children get along: whether in the classroom or in the playground. The 65 students here are special because they have to overcome obstacles day in and day out, obstacles regular people don't face. So how does a def person cross the road in a country where there are no pedestrian cross roads or traffic lights? The six people working at the center are also special, because it takes allot of patience to deal with disabled children. But patience is one thing the Afghans have...