JAKARTA - A mobile library bus drove to a Kabul orphanage on Sunday, opening its doors for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, eliciting beaming smiles from children.
"I'm really happy. I'm studying books that I love again," says 11-year-old Arezo Azizi, whose favorite tome is a math aid about a cat who gets more pieces of cheese if he can count more, citing France 24 from AFP.
The library "wasn't open for three months, until now," he explained, sitting on a converted public bus and his voice rising over the excited chatter of his friends.
The mobile library is one of five buses chartered by a local organization called Charmaghz, founded by Freshta Karim, an Afghan graduate from Oxford University.
Hundreds of children in recent years have used mobile libraries every day as they cross Kabul, as many schools do not have their own libraries.
"But we lost almost all of our sponsors after the government was taken over by the Taliban in mid-August," said Ahmad Fahim Barakati, deputy head of the nonprofit initiative.
Meanwhile, the Taliban's Ministry of Education granted permission for the mobile library to reopen a few weeks ago. However, only a few days ago an agreement was reached with the transportation ministry, the bus owner, explained Barakati.
Like children, librarian Ramzia Abdi Khail, 22, seemed happy that the show was back.
"It's a nice feeling. Currently, schools are also closed," he said.
Girls' education has been hit especially hard by the return of the Taliban to power, as millions of girls across the country are barred from secondary education in public schools.
"We have street children and I am happy to serve them because they do not have the opportunity to go to school, and this is the way I can serve them," added Khail.
"We have Islamic books, we have English story books and from we have painting books, different game books," he continued.
Charmaghz has enough current funds to keep the mobile library operating for about a month, Barakati said.
"We raise funds through online platforms and globally and I hope we have enough sponsors and donors to continue to exceed that."
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