Back To Life

Dear friend,

Good news first: Despite many challenges and restrictions, it is still possible—and actively happening—that over one thousand children participate in our fun and meaningful activities in Afghanistan. We currently have 37 social circus teams organizing activities several times weekly across 17 provinces, 14 of these teams are led by female team leaders, with hundreds of girls still engaged in our programs.

While the boys in both Nangarhar, Ghor, and many more places in Afghanistan continue to make public shows for thousands of audiences, and the girls in Yakawlang, Badakshan, and Helmand miraculously continue to find ways to meet, juggle, and have fun, we are though unfortunately facing increasing challenges, both in some of the regions and particularly at our main center in Herat city.

Our Herat Center has been serving hundreds of girls and boys for the past three years, offering a range of recreational, fun, and educational activities. Throughout this time, we have continuously adapted to new restrictions, finding compromised solutions to continue supporting as many girls as possible. However, in the past few months, the restrictions imposed by the authorities have exceeded our ability to adjust.

Restrictions such as age limits for the girls and limitations on activities has already since long been a reality. With new restrictions including that no female staff are permitted in NGOs, in early January we had to send home both the female teachers and the female cook in our center in Herat.

We are not the only NGO affected by these restrictive measures, but we are among the few organizations still actively finding ways to adapt and continue most of our work.

Here is an article explaining some of the challenges we and other NGOs face in Afghanistan:
AP News: Taliban-imposed restrictions on NGOs

Current Status:
At the moment, our Herat center is temporarily closed, until March 21st, which marks the start of the new Afghan year. While we are considering the best way forward for our operations in Herat, all other activities implemented by our 37 brave team leaders continue as usual.

We deeply appreciate your continued support which is essential for providing us the much-needed flexibility to adjust to any given situation in one of the world’s most challenging environments, especially for girls. While preparing to restart the activities in Herat, we still have ongoing costs to maintain the center. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Thank you for standing with Afghan children—especially girls—during these challenging times.

Dear Friend,

We held have just had our first government school performance with the attendance of representatives from the authorities and the Ministry of Education. Promoting and normalizing art and entertainment for children, especially for girls in Afghanistan, is a significant challenge that requires time, creativity, and resilience. Due to further restrictions from the authorities, the average age of girls participating in our activities has decreased, and they now have much less public presence.

We are committed to maintaining the participation of girls in our programs by dedicating a larger portion of our focus and resources to them. Currently, we have 34 teams across 17 provinces, with 8 of the team leaders being female. In addition, many of our male team leaders also organize activities specifically for girls.

Our 34 teams each have at least two weekly sessions for their children and many performances. They are all involved in regional and national events such as our regional juggling championship which was held last month and community–do-good work. The community–do-good work is an integrated part of our activities and varies from team to team, ranging from cleaning public spaces to helping in emergencies. For example, one of our Ghor social circus teams, with the support of a generous donor, facilitated and organized Social Circus workshops and shows, along with the distribution of emergency packages for 158 families affected by the recent flood in Ghor province.

Despite the many challenges, our efforts in Afghanistan are steadily gaining strength and expanding. The systems we have developed and the experiences we have accumulated in Afghanistan are becoming invaluable resources for our work in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and other countries in the future. Our Bangladeshi and Ethiopian mobilizers and trainers are now joining our weekly Afghan network online meeting, learning from their experiences, drawing inspiration, and forming meaningful friendships.

We sincerely appreciate your continued support of our efforts in Afghanistan.