A HARROW Weald family have filled their home with educational equipment for war-torn Afghanistan.

Sayed Fatimi, 37, runs the Afghan Reconstruction and Development Organisation (ARDO) from his house in Athelstone Road and after a recent appeal, each room is crammed with donated goods, including 115 computers, 40 printers and ten photocopiers, packed ready to be shipped out on Saturday.

They leave little living space for Sayed's wife and two children, but he said that the computers were desperately needed by colleges in Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad.

"If we send 20 computers, each will teach two students at a time," he said.

"If there are two sessions, it means 80 students in a day who, in three months, will pass their exam.

"These are people who have been affected by the war and need training to earn a living."

Sayed came to Britain from Afghanistan in 1992 and knows first hand how the politics of his native country, in which tribal warlords hold sway, can endanger young people and turn them away from education.

"If we don't provide for these people they have to look for other ways, and that will take them to the warlords," he said.

"But if you give them education and help them they might have something to live for instead of going to war. We are saying: don't let your sons be soldiers, let them become doctors or teachers."

ARDO also runs building, agricultural, health and women's development projects. The non-profit organisation has seven directors, but almost all of the day-to-day work is done by the Fatimi family.

Sayed's daughter Faseha, 13, keeps lists of the goods while his son, Hamid, 12, helps him on e-mail and the internet.

Most of the computers were bought with donated funds, but Sayed says there was a constant need for second-hand clothes and books.

"Nothing is wasted and we take whatever people in the community can offer," he said.

"Even if something is broken, it can be mended cheaply in Afghanistan."

Even the cardboard boxes for the shipment were gathered door-to-door to save money.

Sayed's next concern is a development project which will provide employment for Afghan women in their homes. Even after the end of Taliban oppression of women, most still do not work.

He is looking for a sponsor for an exhibition in Hammersmith to promote the project.

For further information, contact Sayed on 020 8863 6287 or e-mail sayed.fatimi1@ btopenworld.com.