Support Education for Marginalized Kabul Children

Action for Development’s project Support Education For Marginalized Children in Kabul provides a safe pathway to education through the School For Street Working Children which would otherwise be unavailable. Not only does the project create safe learning environments and alternative methods of delivering education in Afghanistan, it also provides the children and school with the necessary materials such as clothing and other school item essentials.

In this report we highlight the exciting surprise for the children in Kabul and Parwan at the end of Ramadan for Eid-al Fitr of last year, and the importance of proper clothing children can wear to school to feel confident and happy during their daily school activities. Through a support of a local businessman in Kabul the kids were provided 205 sets of clothing. This is a custom traditionally exclusive to medium to higher income families, and this year many children were able to have this experience too. Clothing can be seen as an important part for low-income and poor families who thrive to focus their income on food. Also having reasonable clothing builds confidence in children, their pride and self-esteem.

The situation of education for girls in Afghanistan has been increasingly deteriorating in the country, but Action for Development continues to provide tailored educational alternatives ensuring that access to education for girls is achieved with safety as a priority. Without Action for Development and the donors who make it all possible to address the issues of education in Afghanistan, these children are possibly in danger of failing to engage in education in the long run and join formal schools.

During this year as the problems with famine protracted more attention was given to donation of food items. During the month of Ramathan (this May) for the celebration of Eid-al Fitr, the students also received a sack of 10kg rice as a gift. 

An estimated 60,000 school aged children in Kabul fall victim to child labor (UNICEF2015), deprived of their human rights and right to education. Since the beginning of 2021 this number has doubled. Increasing Taliban governed restrictions result in reduced school attendance, in particular for girls aged 12 and above. Action for Development has innovated to provide vulnerable children access to their right of education.

For this coming celebration of Eid-ul Adha, we hope more children in Kabul and Parwan, and the students can be reached with gifts, like a new set of clothing.  At a glance, the organization has the following activities planned for the immediate and long term future:

1. Provide access to quality education and food to 400 children.
2. Give children every opportunity to enter the formal school system
3. Support access to education for girls over 12 and access to work for women.
4. Continue developing special training methodologies, including distance learning.
5. Launch of the Vocational Education and Training programme for 15 boys. (currently halted due to lack of funds)

Thank you for your continued support and contributions - It makes the world of a difference to children.

An estimated 60,000 children residing in Kabul are engaged in child labour (UNICEF). Exposed to poverty and abuse, forced to work on the streets in order to provide for their families, a high number of children do not attend school, particularly girls.  AfD's schools provide marginalized boys and girls in Kabul with the possibility to attend an inclusive semi-formal school where they can learn basic literacy and numeracy skills together with drawing, practical and technical knowledge.

The ‘School for street-working children’ project was designed as a response to the deteriorating situation of children and young people working on the streets of Kabul. Thanks to our donors’ support (UEFA Foundation for Children, Gertrude Hirzel Foundation, Dr. Ernst-Günther Bröder Stiftung, and the Municipalities of Bellevue, Bernex, Choulex and Lancy), AfD is implementing this educational project with a view to improving the quality of life of children and young people by reintegrating them into the formal education system and supporting their development through nutritious meals and physical activities.

With a mandate to help street-working children thrive, enter the formal education system and enjoy better living conditions, AfD works hard to equip children with confidence, literacy, numeracy and life skills to enable them to fight for a better future. We strongly believe that access to education is key to their survival, healthy upbringing and reintegration into society.

The number of children attending AfD’s school increased on a regular basis and has reached 233 children in December 2021, out of which 93 are girls. AfD welcomes these children in two facilities in Kabul - and since August 2021 also in one facility in Charikar, Parwan Province.

From January to December 2021, we provided our children with 47,040 meals. In addition, 126 students received health check-ups with paediatricians from AfD’s Comprehensive Health Centre.

90 children, including 23 girls, took part in our football training until 15. August, when the Taliban took over and banned girls’ sports. After a break of several weeks, the boys resumed football training in mid-September. Alternative sports are planned for the girls.

Thanks to our on-going collaboration with the Afghan Ministry of Education, our six teachers received on-the-job training in February 2021. With the ‘Afghan Children Read’ programme they participated in a training to learn the new official curriculum for community-based schools in Afghanistan. After the training we received the formal teachers training material from ‘Creative Associates’. This training aimed to improve their teaching skills in order to be able to work with children from different backgrounds.

Through our education programme AfD is addressing two major issues: secondary education for girls, and a Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme for boys.

Given the fact that the current schools are no longer accessible to girls aged 12 and above, AfD started the development of “skill learning classes” for girls, which will be created by women groups within the household setups. Through these setups these girls will get access to secondary education, as well as learning specific skills (i.e., embroidery and sewing).

We are going to engage street-working boys aged 13-16 in a vocational training (VET) programme, which has been developed in the first half of 2021. A group of 20 boys, who will join micro-enterprises (i.e., carpentry, technology and mobile device fixing, car workshops etc) has been identified and was ready to start, when the Taliban took over. The boys will learn a skill as well as literacy and numeracy, which will support them to stabilise their lives and successfully transit towards becoming self-sufficient in the future. We are currently waiting for the situation in Kabul to stabilise before we start implementing the VET programme.

Links:

• https://actfordev.org/