Education Afghanistan Project #24751

Support Education for Marginalized Kabul Children

by Action for Development (AfD)

Project Report | Jan 24, 2019
A day in Rameen's Life

By Sania Nezami | Project Coordinator (street working children)

« It’s true, I am a child and I work on the street, but I have a lot of ambitions », recounts Rameen - 11 years old, living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rameen is one of 186 pupils at the three Action for Development (AfD) schools for street working children. He lives in a family of eight, including his three brothers and two younger sisters. A few months ago, Rameen’s eldest sibling died in a car accident at work. This tragic event was an enormous shock for his family.

Rameen and his two remaining brothers found themselves obliged to work to support the family as their 65-year-old father suffers from health problems. Although their father is limited in the amount of work he can do he tries to keep himself active and does some light work selling plastic items to help to feed his family.

« My sisters are too young to think about work. However, my little brother aged 7, started working at the livestock. » explains Rameen. The boys have little choice but to work but are motivated by the love of their family, « The most import thing in my life is my family, as long as I have the ability to, I will help them. » Rameen.

Rameen starts his day early, waking at 6am to go to work near his home, where he washes cars on the street. When there are no cars to wash, he earns a little money by bringing water to local households. At 11 o’clock, he begins classes at the AfD school for street working children located near his workplace. The center welcomes children like Rameen, providing them with a hot lunch as well as literacy and numeracy classes. For some of the children, this is the only meal they will receive during the day. After 3 hours at the centre, Rameen goes back to work until night, «When I finish my work, I buy something for my family with the money I have collected», shares Rameen.

Rameen’s family reunites in their 2-room home each evening to eat dinner together. On the menu, either beans or boiled potatoes. « We live in an old house where every corner of the two rooms is a place to sleep in. Without any water access, we don’t have a proper kitchen, so my mom cooks at the entrance of the corridor » explains Rameen. With no television at home, the family usually spends the evenings sharing stories about their day.

Rameen’s neighborhood is populated with other families who share the same difficulties and hardships, but the boys find some time for fun with friends,

« There are many neighbors around my house and their sons are my friends. I go to work all days, but during days off, like Friday, I play football with them next to my house » Rameen.

AfD’s education project aims to support street working children like Rameen by providing them with education, regular meals and health check-ups. Our main objective is to provide the children with the opportunity to build a better future for themselves and their communities. We do this by teaching literacy and numeracy skills to a level that gives the children the possibility of integrating into the mainstream educational system. With sufficient funding, we will provide those children with the necessary financial support to be able to pursue their education without placing financial strain on their families.

« The biggest fear of my life is to lose my family and my biggest ambition is to become a doctor », Rameen.

If you would like to support our work with street working children to help children like Rameen realise their ambitions please go to :http://www.actfordev.org/a-day-in-the-life-of-rameen/

Permalink

Sep 25, 2018
Protecting and promoting education in Afghanistan

By Stephanie Schrempft | Public Health Specialist

Kabul, August 16^th 2018. The latest in a series of attacks on schools. At least 34 people were killed by the suicide bomb; most of them young Afghans studying for their exams. Schools are an easy target for militant groups; more than 1000 are now closed for security reasons, and at least 86 have been destroyed by militant attacks this year. The risk of violence has become a grim reality for Afghan children, but also highlights the importance of protecting and promoting education for future generations.

Our Kabul school for street children empowers the community by providing an education for those less fortunate. We now have more than 70 children attending the school; all of whom are also engaged in some form of street work to provide for their families. Our school provides an environment where children can be children. They are taught numeracy, literacy, arts and crafts, and they receive a daily meal.

The children are keen to attend the classes, and they have become more open in sharing their thoughts, hopes, and dreams for the future. The recent introduction of football into the curriculum has been welcomed by the children, and they enjoy feeling part of a team. The football coach supports and promotes female participation in football practices, even though cultural norms and traditional gender roles discourage girls from doing so. Our teachers are engaging with the street children’s families, and explaining the importance of physical education for the children’s learning and well-being.

In Geneva, we have been continuing our efforts to increase awareness of our school for street children. Last month, the main photograph for our project page was selected as a finalist in Global Giving’s Annual Photo Competition. We are also engaged in correspondence with the Mobile School to find ways in which we can reach even more street children in Kabul.

If we can positively influence how children see themselves, their environment, and the future, we can influence society for the better.

Please continue to support us in our quest to change lives.

Warm wishes,

The team at AfD

Links:

http://www.actfordev.org/street-children-back-to-school/

Permalink

Jun 25, 2018
Protecting and empowering street children

By Stephanie Schrempft | Public Health Specialist

Tens of thousands of children work on the streets in Kabul, Afghanistan.They often work in unsafe environments, face abuse and crime, are exposed to the illegal drugs trade, and experience workplace injuries and security threats.

The needs of street children are overshadowed by the dire economic and security situation in Afghanistan. The country is in the midst of a prolonged recession, and many children have lost their fathers to the conflict. They have no choice but to work to provide for their family.

Street children are a vulnerable demographic in need of protection. They also need to have their voices heard and their rights upheld. Our school continues to protect and empower street children by providing them with an education in addition to food and basic health care.

There are now 63 children enrolled in our school, split in 2 classrooms, based on ability rather than age. The children attend school 5 days per week from 11.30 to 15.00 where they learn basic numeracy and literacy (in Dari, the local language), do art and crafts, and receive a warm lunch. Thanks to our partnership with UEFA, we have now rented a football pitch and hired a football coach to allow 40 children (20 boys and 20 girls) to play football once per week. Currently, we have a coordinator, 2 trainers (who also work as street workers to recruit children into the school), a cook, and a football coach working at the school.

In May, we started a collaboration with Mobile School, an organization that develops mobile school carts and educational materials and trains local street workers to increase the efficiency of the outreach work done on the streets. By becoming part of a global network of mobile schools around the world, we can share knowledge, experiences, and best practices. By bringing the school to the streets, we can recruit harder-to-reach children.

We would like to thank you again for supporting our school. Please share the details of our project with your friends and family. Attending the school improves the day-to-day lives of street children, and gives them hope for the future.

Warm regards,

The team at AfD

Links:

http://www.action-for-development.org/street-children-back-to-school/

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.