By Somaya Mandgar
The sound of childish voices repeating words after their teacher emanates from a classroom in Bamyan. Here, children who are working for their family’s income also spend part of their day receiving an education through a program established to help end the cycle of poverty.
The educational center, Kindness Umbrella to Defend Afghan Children Organization (KUDACO), currently has at least 30 students who are child laborers – half of whom are girls. Apart from the education, children also still work to help support their families, such as smoking pecans, collecting plastic waste, or working in soup and burger shops in Bamyan city. If that was not permitted, some of them might not attend school at all.
Maryam Halimi, 25, founded KUDACO using personal funds. “When I went to the market, I saw children who, instead of playing children’s games, were smoking pecans and who were in a very bad state of appearance,” she says. “Some collect garbage or they work in mechanic shops. I have always wondered how I could help them.”
The organization began preliminary work six months ago, aiming to provide education and humanitarian aid for working children. Maryam’s husband also contributes to the program’s expenses through their personal business. “In the organization’s ten-year plan, we have decided to support our current students until they graduate from university and, at the end, to provide job opportunities for them,” Maryam says.
In the coming weeks, KUDACO has plans to identify and include 30 more child laborers for the program where they’ll receive two hours of daily instruction in subjects like English, Dari, Pashto, math, and art. Maryam says that efforts have been made to ensure the children can attend the classes without it being more burdensome for them or their families. KUDACO offers free educational materials, monthly prizes for exceptional students, and provides support for the children and their families in various forms.
“We celebrated March 8 [International Women’s Day] a while ago, and invited their mothers to come to the event along with the children. We also planned a gift for their mothers. Our assistance is different every month, some months we give cash to their families, some months we consider the student prize, food for their families, and in some months clothes for the children.”
According to Maryam, the number of child laborers in Bamyan has at least tripled in the past two years based on surveys conducted by her and her colleagues. “In the previous surveys, there were about 178 child laborers in Bamyan, but a survey that our colleagues have done shows 642 children, something more than three and a half times,” she says.
Along with the educational process, KUDACO organizes scientific and recreational trips for the children. “We also decide to take our students to places such as tailors, cookie bakers, and other places that work in the skills sector so that they can become interested in other professions as well,” Maryam says.
The process of accepting the children into the educational program is precise and thorough. Eligible children are first identified anonymously, then their families are approached. “After we make sure that he or she is eligible, we include them in our program,” Maryam says.
Shakila, 11, one of the organization’s students, is glad she is part of the program. Having worked on the street for a year, collecting empty curtains and paper in Bamyan city, Shakila is now able to write her name and says she has improved mentally. “I have more hope for the future that I can study and not remain illiterate while working in the bazaar,” she says.
Amir Hamza, 8, who has been smoking pecans in Bamyan city for six months, is also thrilled with the opportunity to learn. “Since I joined the class, I have been able to learn English, learn spelling, and my lessons have improved,” he says.
Fatima, 37, says she has seen a positive mental shift since her nine-year-old daughter began the KUDACO program. Rukhshana Media’s reporter visited them at home, nestled in the heart of the mountain in Bamyan’s Sorkhqol area, near the Buddha crevices. The poverty in their stark and simple home was evident from the worn and faded carpet in the hall to the torn shoes sitting outside the door. “We couldn’t afford to buy books, pens, booklets, bags, and school clothes, and that’s why we couldn’t afford to let her go to school either,” Fatima says, adding that her daughter helps with family income by smoking pecans for sale.
She says the program has at least three teachers who are good at following up on student attendance. “If one day a student does not come to class, a teacher will call their mother or father to ask why their son or daughter is absent.”
Like many families, Fatima allows her children to work out of sheer poverty. Her husband’s income is only enough to provide dry bread for their family of eight.
According to a UN report, 25 million people live in poverty in Afghanistan, and over 28 million will need humanitarian aid this year.
Momina, 42, who is also living in Bamyan’s Sorkhqol area, says she sends her 10-year-old son to work out of necessity. “All children work out of need. If we didn’t have to, we wouldn’t put a bunch of young children to work,” she says from her home, which they rent, and which has plastic covering the windows instead of glass.
Ali Hussain Zarifi, 31, who studied sociology, believes that giving working children a basic education will protect them from many social harms in the future. “When a child remains illiterate, it is as if a family remains illiterate in the future. Also, we see that those who are deprived of education due to extreme poverty and having to work hard often carry a great hatred within them.”
Mohammadullah Motamid, 39, a psychology lecturer at Bamyan University, says organizations like KUDACO are important and should expand. “I wish other organizations would take such initiatives for the children,” he says.
