By Rahimi | Education Team Member
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.
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