Support Education for Marginalized Kabul Children

Empowering the Youths of Afghanistan: Nurturing Education and Providing Hope for a Future Generation

As we are awaiting for approval of funds for the 2023 program for educating girls and boys in Afghanistan, AfD does not miss the chances to go further and discover new opportunities.

Thanks to gracious contribution from GlobalGiving Foundation, UEFA Foundation for Children, Gertrude Hirzel Foundation, and Dr Ernst-Gunther Broder Foundation our education project for street working children and adolescent girls remained active, therefore providing an opportunity for the children to access education. Our schools provide lessons, lessons in physical activities and nutritional meals (often constituting the only meal children receive that day) which is offered specifically for the children who spend their time on the streets in search of daily earnings. With these schools, we aim to nourish empty stomachs of the street working children (who are mainly between 6-13 years old) but also facilitate the integration of these children into the formal education system. For those unable to integrate to the formal educational setting, we provide vocational training and skills or refer them to other local organisations who provide similar programs, so that later it enables them to have reasonable skills to generate an income.

Today we support 480 students (between the ages of 6-13) and 469 girls of secondary school age who are enrolled in our 3 schools for street working children and 11 centers for girls education. Football training which is provided to boys, is a fantastic way to enhance their soft skills including teamwork, mutual respect, determination and commitment. As of today the total number of students participating in the football training has reached 179 students.

We recently interviewed Maryam (changed name for security reason), a 10-year-old student benefiting from our project and attending one of our schools. When asked about the financial situation of her family and the reason she works on the streets she simply stated: “it’s bad, I sell bags on the streets in order to earn some money and provide food for my family”. 

Despite the current humanitarian crisis, Maryam hopes to graduate from school and later from university, so she can become a doctor. Our schools aim to educate this future generation and provide a sense of hope and normality in a bleak time.

She ends the interview stating, “thank you so much for establishing this school so we can continue our education”. Maryam is just one of the many girls students who benefit from our educational programs.

We are thrilled to provide a positive impact to these children and young people thanks to foundations and individual donations that are channeled towards this cause.

We are facing continued challenges, however, AfD continues to provide education for marginalized children, especially girls, in Afghanistan.

To not contradict new rules and regulations set by the de-facto authorities in Afghanistan, AfD is continuously adapting its Education programs to reach the most vulnerable with our services. This way, in our school for street-working children, boys can continue to receive football training, and the children can receive a daily meal. Furthermore, in the next few months, we will enroll an additional 100 students into our program, letting us reach over 500 students between the ages of 6-13.

To be able to further provide girls aged 13-17 with schooling, secret home-based (community) schools were set up led by female teachers. Currently, AfD is looking into possibilities to set up a digital education system that allows girls to learn from home.

AfD’s project “Support Education for Marginalized Kabul Children” is essential in providing an education, the school lunch program, and basic needs to the students, who may otherwise go without and be left behind from the right of an education. We need your continued support.

In addition, in our effort to eradicate barriers to education and health for street-working children, young girls, and women in Afghanistan, AfD co-hosted an Intersessional Discussion on the topic "Transforming Lives Through Education: A Call to Action for Afghanistan" at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on June 2nd, 2023. 

Furthermore, Action for Development was a co-host for the Side Event of the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council. Under the topic of "Unleashing the Potential of the Next Afghan Generation: Advocating for the Right to Education in Afghanistan", where 33 United Nations Member States discussed the importance of education in ensuring sustainable peace and development in Afghanistan.

Thank you for your support.