Support Education for Marginalized Kabul 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/