March 20, 2010

The Afghan Action project appealed to us as it provided an opportunity for our children to develop awareness of Afghanistan beyond the images that they seen and discussed within our lessons during our topic – “What’s in the News?”  Living where they do, the children have little opportunity to engage with cultures other than that of the predominantly white communities in which they live.  They learn, in school, about other cultures through Geography, PSHCE and RE lessons, but we felt that the Afghan Action project would provide an opportunity to engage with Afghan culture on a deeper level, learning through their own first-hand experiences and from people with first-hand experience of living and working in the country of Afghanistan.

Click here for Bubwith Community School

March 20, 2010

School Background

Bubwith Community Primary School is situated on the border of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire authority boundaries, near the banks of the River Derwent.  We have approximately 100 children on roll taught in four, mixed year group classes.  The children are all white, British and live either in the village of Bubwith itself or are transported by bus from the local outlying villages.

Click here for Bubwith Community School

March 16, 2010

About our school

Walkington Primary School is located in Walkington village – a short distance away from the market town of Beverley. There are approximately 250 pupils in our school and most of the pupils are from a white, British ethnic background. The majority of our pupils live in the village itself although some children do come to Walkington from the surrounding area. Written by Classteacher Julie Cottis

Why we joined

We were excited to join the Afghan Action project as it provided a unique experience for the children to access the global community around them. It was also a chance for us to explore the ‘real’ Afghanistan rather than the image portrayed from the current war and media coverage. We felt that many of our pupils already knew a little about Afghanistan but their knowledge really didn’t go beyond the images of soldiers and war. So having the opportunity to have an afghan visitor come to school to talk about afghan culture and traditions was a great way to balance the children’s perceived thoughts about the country.

The impact on the pupils

We decided to start the project in the middle age range of the school with our 3 mixed Year 3/ 4 classes. The children thoroughly enjoyed our Afghan project work and their opinions changed dramatically throughout the course of our studies. We began the project by writing our thoughts about children in Afghanistan and what they might see on their walk to school. Many pupils wrote about bombs, soldiers and broken houses. In fact many pupils were surprised that children actually had a normal daily routine and even went to school. Then, after studying the country and culture in greater depth, and after meeting a positive representative, Zia (from Afghanistan), the children changed their opinions completely. They painted beautiful watercolours of the afghan landscape and quoted ‘I’d love to go there one day!’ These paintings were then displayed at Bainton Art Gallery and were sold to raise £90 for Afghan Action. The pupil’s money went towards buying a goat which they were thrilled about! They enjoyed dressing up in traditional costume and loved the carpet designing and weaving. Zia even taught the pupils how to write their name in Farsi which some pupils continued to do on their own work throughout the week! We then revisited the children’s thoughts about Afghanistan and what they thought afghan school pupils would see on the way to school. This time more positive ideas flowed, such as trees, birds, goats, traditional clothes and chatting in Farsi with friends. We feel that our Year 3/ 4 pupils now have a much more balanced opinion of Afghanistan and a positive attitude towards the country and people from there. We look forward to continuing the project and learning more with other year groups in our school.

Click here for Walkington School

August 03, 2009

Wanstead School students designed a carpet and Afghan Action made it.

Design made by Wanstead School students

We made it!

Click here for Wanstead School

February 21, 2008

                                                                                                                                           
                                                     
                                                    Afghan Action, 169 Westmount Road, London SE9 1XY
                    Tel 020 8859 6733 Mob 07957 135593 Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Chelsea and Dylan,
Members of the School Council
Framfield C of E School
The Street
Framfield
East Sussex TN22 5NR

22 February 2008

Dear Chelsea and Dylan

WACKY HAIR DAY

Thank you for your letter asking me to visit Framfield School for Wacky Hair day. It sounds a great idea! I am delighted that you would like to raise some money to buy a Ghazni sheep. They are very shaggy and their wool is ideal for using in carpets.

We want to try and help some very needy people living in a place called Wardak, in Afghanistan, to build up a flock of Ghazni sheep. They used to have animals but many years of fighting have meant that their animals have been lost or killed and they now live in tents on stony ground and are very very poor. They long to have sheep again. When I met them, I had a friend called Abdullah with me and he helped me understand what they were saying, as they can’t speak English and I can’t speak Pashto (their language). We sat on carpets on the floor of a big tent and we all drank green tea. The children crowded round the doorway to see what was going on.

If they have sheep again, the Kuchis will be very happy. And it would be wonderful if Framfield School could be the first school in the country to help them.

I can come to the school on Wednesday 30 April, Thursday 1 May or Wednesday 7 May. Are any of these dates good for you?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely

Chris Beales