UUSC Volunteers Engage Youth to Support Afghan Human-rights Education

By Kate Wallace
Originally published in Rights Now Spring/Summer 2010

When UUSC Volunteer Network Regional Coordinator Jeff Harper sought to involve Florida's young people in social justice, he first looked for inspiration in the work of other local UUSC volunteers. Local Representative Pat Wellington had organized a successful project with children to teach them about water justice and support UUSC's partnership with La Red Vida, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Bolivia working on the human right to water. Harper approached UUSC staff about creating a similar project, this time involving children in supporting human-rights education for their peers in Afghanistan.

Harper decided to engage youth in fundraising for the Human Rights Teacher Training, a workshop for Afghan teachers organized by UUSC and partner Barakat. An NGO dedicated to improving the well-being of marginalized groups in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, Barakat works to increase access to education and advance literacy. The training addresses human-rights issues, with a special focus on women and girls and the right to education.

Workshop participants learn about the legal and religious foundations for human rights and are given techniques to bring those ideas back to their classrooms. The workshops empower the teachers themselves, who have varied levels of education and personal knowledge of their rights. Already, hundreds of Afghan children have benefited from human-rights instruction because their teachers were trained in these workshops.

After working with UUSC staff to create resources for a youth project, Harper contacted the Afghan embassy for additional materials and then reached out to local representatives, religious educators, and others. Responding enthusiastically to the idea, several congregations adopted plans to implement it, embracing a flexible project that allowed congregations to modify it to best fit their needs.

Ten Florida congregations have raised funds for the Human Rights Teacher Training. The range of activities reflects the creativity of the children and project leaders. At UU United Fellowship in St. Petersburg, youth spent several religious-education classes learning about Afghanistan, and their project culminated with the kids decorating bowls, cooking Afghan food, and selling the bowls of food at a special event. At First Unitarian Church of Orlando, the children ran a bake sale and lemonade stand and also presented information during a service. Manatee UU Fellowship organized a dinner, market, dance, slide show, and talk. Other congregations planned equally creative events, engaging their children and congregations in learning and action to support the teacher trainings. In total, the churches have raised over $4,500.

For Harper, the value of the project comes not only in the concrete support for Afghanistan's teachers, but also in the knowledge gained by the participants. "The children learned a valuable lesson about the importance of human rights," he says, and many churches have already asked about doing a similar project next year.

Kate Wallace is a program assistant for UUSC's membership development.