3,000 street children in Badghis provided education opportunity

QALA-I-NAW (Pajhwok): On Children’s Day, some residents of western Badghis province say children in the province do not enjoy their basic rights, but local officials talk about efforts to create educational opportunities for children.

The first of June is celebrated as Children’s Day in many countries of the world while thousands of children in Afghanistan are deprived of their basic rights due to the past four decades of wars and other problems and they are forced to do hard labor jobs.

Mohammad, 11, originally from Qadis district, lives with his family in the provincial capital Qala-i-Naw. Mohammad collects scrap and makes around 20 or 30 afghanis daily, but the money is not enough to meet the needs of his 10-member family.

Mohammad’s father died in the war and now he is the sole breadwinner of his family and apart from himself, nine other members of his family are dependent on money he earns with his small arms.

Mohammad says war and poverty did not allow him to go to school and he turned collecting scrap to find a morsel of bread.

He expects the government to support him so he can study and achieve his dreams.

But officials of the provincial Labor and Social Affairs Department, say they have collected thousands of street children and enrolled them in schools and other educational programs.

Toor Jan Khadimi, Labor and Social Affairs director, said schools, literacy courses and orphanages have been set up for such children.

However, Khadimi did not provide exact number of street children in Badghis province, but added their department has provided education facilities for about 3,000 of such children.

He insisted his department was trying to provide opportunities of vocational training and education for more children in the province.

Not only in Badghis, many children are engaged in hard labor and are deprived of education in other provinces as well.

aw/ma

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