Sesame Street off to Afghanistan
2004-04-30 13:07
Los Angeles - Elmo, Cookie Monster and the Sesame Street gang will help Afghan teachers educate their students, many of whom have never been in a classroom, project sponsors announced on Thursday.
About 400 kits will be distributed in Afghanistan. They were prepared by the Sesame Workshop, the show's non-profit educational arm, and the Rand Corp, a non-profit think-tank based in Santa Monica, California.
The kits include 10 videotapes, each with a 20-minute episode of Koche Sesame, the Afghan version of Sesame Street, a teacher handbook, a poster and school supplies.
Children will see a dubbed version of the Egyptian Sesame Street - called Alam Simsim - with some material from the United States, said Beatrice Chow of the Sesame Workshop.
"Because of the Taliban's repressive regime, a large majority of Afghan children have little or no educational background," said Cheryl Benard, who heads Rand's portion of the project.
"This material has been assembled specifically to address the needs of a post-conflict society."
Rand and the Sesame Workshop got help from Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture, Afghan teachers and media groups and Afghan-Americans in selecting material for Afghan children.
"We are very pleased with this gift," said Sekander Giyam, adviser to the Afghan minister of education. "We need our children to have their eyes and their minds opened to new ideas," he said.
The videos will also be shown in women's centres, orphanages, children's centers and in specially equipped traveling vans.
Episodes will be broadcast on national and provincial television, but few Afghan families have television sets.
The episodes help teachers with instruction, foster awareness of other cultures, highlight opportunities for women and increase student interest in education and careers.
It is funded, in part, by Qatar, which is helping rebuild Afghanistan.
- AFP