The Zenda Jan Community Centere in Herat, in the northwest of Afghanistan, helps hearing-impaired children read and write. The development of Afghan sign language allows children to finally make themselves understood.

Afghan sign language (ASL) is still being developed; the dictionary now has about 2,000 words and another 1,000 are being created.

Students at the Center are learning basic receptive and expressive ASL, ASL vocabulary, finger spelling skills and simple conversational behaviors.

Until this project began in May, none of the children in this class had the opportunity to learn to read and write. There is no formal education available for hearing-impaired children in Herat, let alone in the impoverished district of Zenda Jan. Eighty-nine students are now attending classes at four centers across the province of Herat, and receive a monthly food ration from WFP as part of a Food for Training project. Plans are underway to integrate the some students into schools with their hearing friends.

The establishment of a center where women can attend is important because home visits are not well accepted in Afghan culture, particularly if a man is not present in the house. The mothers here are waiting to speak to social workers about how their children are responding to therapy.

A student called Hamida signs with her teacher, Azima, at the front of the classroom.

It is estimated that between 4 and 10 percent of Afghanistan’s population is disabled, but the true percentage is not yet known.

There are very few people able to teach sign language in Herat province. Handicap International with the support of WFP is training 16 teachers in communicating with students using sign language. WFP, under its Food for Training project, provides teachers like Azima with a monthly ration of wheat, pulses, oil and dates.