Eight months ago, if you had asked me about what I knew about Afghanistan, I would have said something about the war on terrorism. Whenever a news feed showed any headlines involving Afghanistan, my mind would instantly go to the world's focus on Afghan War. Our troops were being pulled out of combat, so I couldn't be any happier. My mind couldn't be swayed to think about anything else besides a combat or the Taliban's hateful schemes to rid the world of anything they disliked. International news clouded my mind with images of derelict buildings and scattered bodies. I didn't want to spend more than 5 minutes thinking about the chaos that was occurring in Afghanistan.
But now I have come to see a different side of the Afghan conflict. Thanks to becoming a guest writer for Film Annex, I decided to educate myself, as well as my readers, on the people of Afghanistan, not the deviants. Behind every conflict are the innocents: the men, women, and children who live their everyday lives with the effects of the Afghan War shadowing them. Children are being used as suicide bombers and women are still fighting to become a voice in the Afghan Society. The biggest issue to hit me hard, was the educational system of Afghanistan, or rather the lack of education available to everyone. Women and girls have the biggest obstacle to bypass: the Taliban's disregard for women's choice to be educated.
As someone who recently completed college and received a bachelor's degree in something I have a passion for, I couldn't imagine not being able to go to school because someone thought it was a detriment for the society. I've always been an advocate of education, no matter how much I hated waking up at the crack of dawn to go to school. I yearn to be educated and educate others even now. I believe that education/knowledge is one of the most powerful weapons a person can have.
There are many people taking a stand for bettering the educating the youth and women of Afghanistan. Film Annex is building forty Internet classrooms in Afghanistan as a part of Film Annex's Afghan Development Project. Thanks to Francesco Rulli, the president and CEO of Film Annex, more than 160,00 students will have access to these classrooms, but Film Annex won't stop there. They hope to expand their project to reach 4 million students in 1,000 schools(Source). Film Annex's Afghan Development Project is a collaboration with Roya Mahboob of Citadel Software Company and corporate backers to ensure that these Internet classrooms are built with quality and great technology. www.linkedin.com/pub/roya-mahboob/36/465/939. I see it as the beginning of a major international movement. Their rank as the 104th internet platform in the U.S. by Quantcast reflects how influential they have become.
Stay tuned for my next article where I discuss the funders of this initiative and how you can help. Until then...
Let the voices of Film Annex's Afghan Development Project be heard. Spread the word. Make a difference.
Read more about this initiative here or my past articles at my WebTv Channel.
Afghan Development WebTv Channel on Film Annex
Keisha Douglas is an independent filmmaker who specializes in music videos. When she is not filming, she spends much of her time blogging and freelance writing. She is the voice behind Mito Vox, an entertainment & etc. blog. To learn more about her freelance services visit her website. View all her Film Annex posts on her WebTv Channel.
Image: Source
