Ghor man provides free education to out-of-school children after Pajhwok report

FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): Following a Pajhwok report on the situation of working and out-of-school children in western Ghor province, a young man has launched an educational initiative, providing free education and covering all transportation costs for several of these children.

On February 9, Pajhwok published a report titled “Poverty drives Ghor’s children from school into hard labour.”

Children interviewed in the report expressed their interest in education and attending school but emphasized that poverty had deprived them of this opportunity.

They also urged the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and benevolent individuals to help provide access to education.

Ghulam Sakhi Sakha, owner of a private school and several educational centers in Ferozkoh, the provincial capital of Ghor, told Pajhwok: “When I read the Pajhwok report, my heart went out to the children who should have been in class learning but were instead collecting garbage or doing hard labor, orphans with no one to care for them. This motivated me to gather some of these children from across the city and enroll them in school.”

He said that so far, he has identified 20 children from the city and enrolled them in the new academic year. In addition to education, he has covered all their school-related expenses, including transportation.

Sakha added: “My full effort is to include these children not only in school but also in my educational courses, so they can complete the 12th grade with quality education and build a better future for themselves.”

Meanwhile, several children who have joined the private school with his support expressed happiness, saying they now have hope for the future and no longer have to engage in hard labor.

Javid, a 10-year-old orphan, said: “I am happy that someone has thought about us, and now we can go to school and study.”

Similarly, Firoz Ahmad, who previously collected garbage in the city to help his family financially, said with joy: “I wished to go to school, but my family was very poor and could not afford pens and notebooks. I had to work. Now that Mr. Sakha has enrolled me in school, I am very happy and will try to study hard so I can become an engineer in the future and help others.”

At the same time, Saber Afzali, a teacher in Ghor, considers poverty the main factor depriving children of education and emphasizes that voluntary support for underprivileged children not only benefits the individual but also the future of society, helping break the cycle of poverty.

He added that if such initiatives become a model for other capable individuals, children’s access to education will increase and child labor will decrease.

Ghulam Sakhi Sakha also stated that after the publication of the Pajhwok report, he has enrolled more children and continues to work to provide free education for orphans and poor children—an initiative that demonstrates the media’s role in strengthening social responsibility.

hz/sa