"Little Kabul" Docudrama Proposed

As a board member of the Afghan Coalition I try to raise funds for their important work, especially as it relates to Bridge Building. Habib Zargi, a fellow board member and director of Lemar TV, has provided great media coverage to co-sponsored Bridge Building/Afghan Coalition events such as our interfaith meetings and the museum bus trips. As a result of our working together I thought of a way to raise funds and expand the audience of Lemar TV while promoting the concept of "Little Kabul" tourism in Centerville. I recently fleshed out the idea of producing a docudrama in a grant proposal to the Irving Foundation. Then I applied for a matching grant to the Knight Foundation. The initial application for their "community information needs" grant had 4 questions, each of which required answers with less than 250 characters, so it forced me to simplify and focus. Here is what I wrote:

1. What is the project?
To empower local Afghan-Americans to produce "Little Kabul," a reality-based docudrama tracking proposed development of a world-class attraction (to tap into the huge SF Bay Area tourist market) without offending the host community of Fremont.

2. What is the information need that the project is addressing?
Fremont citizens need to regard Afghan refugees as an asset, not a threat. Local Afghans need to avoid civic isolation and proactively engage the larger community to correct post-9-11 stereotypes and demonstrate their benefit as fellow citizens.

3. What geographic area will the project serve?
Alameda County, CA, hosts the largest concentration of Afghan refugees in the USA (30-50K). This docudrama will be broadcast regionally on Lemar TV, a weekly cable public service program primarily for Afghans, but accessible to all Comcast customers.

4. What will be different in the community as a result of this project?
First would come increased political understanding and civic engagement by the Afghan community, especially the younger generation. Then the larger community of Fremont would gain an entertaining and educational program about life in "Little Kabul."