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Current news 2010:
Glenelg Country Day School is running two campaigns for survivors in Afghanistan and has been talking to both High Schools in Afghanistan. Shelby Patrick is running a campaign in the upper school and Ms. Linar Etemadi is running a campaign in the middle school.

 

Distance Learning : by Jennifer Choi

 

To Fly a Kite : by Taylor Field

 

My Trip to Bosnia : by Shelby Patrick

 

 

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CHAMPS International has partnered with Help The Afghan Children (HTAC) to raise landmine awareness and aid young landmine survivors throughout Afghanistan. The CHAMPS International teacher, Ms. Linar Etemadi, for Glenelg Country School has been partnered with Mr. Akmal Ghafori, the CHAMPS International Manager for the HTAC Roshan High School in the Laghman Province.

The students of the Glenelg Country School raised landmine awareness in their school and their community, and through their “Kite Day” fundraiser were able to provide prosthetics, wheelchairs, special walking canes and other much needed medical equipment to the landmine survivors of the Laghman Province.

The CHAMPS International team at the Roshan High School has actively taught Mine Risk Education (MRE) in their school and communities. Through this partnership the students distributed medical equipment, helped and befriended the 11 landmine survivors in their school and are creating positive change in their country.

With the help of the CHAMPS International teachers from both schools the students have been able to video conference via the internet and have formed a strong partnership and relationship. The students talk about things like what life is like in their country and what they are doing to change lives around the world.

survivor stories

 

Noor

Noor is a lovely 20 year old woman who lives in the Laghman Province of Afghanistan. When Noor was 16-years old she lost her left leg to a landmine close to her parental home. Today she has a new leg because of the CHAMPS International Afghanistan project. Now, with two small children (a son 9-months and a daughter who is 4-years old) she can walk with ease to do household chores, and plays and walks with her children more comfortably.

Noor’s husband is a poor man who uses his cart to transport items for others to provide for his family. According to Akmal Ghafori, CHAMPS Manager for Afghanistan, there is no way this family would have ever been able to afford a prosthetic for Noor.
“You have to say thank you to Kimberly and the children, I am thank full from your help”. 

These simple words of appreciation come from a woman whose life is changed and is now easier because of the school children of the Glenelg Country School, Ellicott City, Maryland.

On Friday, June 26, 2009, Akmal took Noor to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Hospital in Jalalabad for her final appointment to be fitted with her new prosthetic.  CHAMPS Director, Kimberly McCasland, asked Akmal how it felt when he saw Noor walking with her new leg. His response:  “Too happy….that never was in my life before. Thank you very much for that you prepare the helping way. I am so happy that you chose me for this enjoyable job.” (IM with Kimberly 6/29/09)

 

Hasibullah                                                           

On Wednesday, July 1, 2009, Akmal will be taking 20-year old Hasibullah for his final fitting for a new prosthetic leg. We know that two years ago, while traveling from his home on the road from Laghman to Kabul, Hasibullah’s vehicle hit a landmine. Now, for the first time in two years, he will walk again, because of the caring children of the CHAMPS International Afghanistan project!  More to follow soon!

 

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These stories can only be told because of partnership between the Marshall Legacy Institute and Help the Afghan Children (HTAC). Akmal Ghifori works as a computer instructor at the Roshan High School in the Laghman Province of Afghanistan which is one of the HTAC schools. Their participation in this program is creating change for landmine and war victims throughout the Laghman province through CHAMPS (CHildren Against Mines Program) International Afghanistan.  For more information about HTAC go to www.htac.org.