Resilient Youth of Afghanistan
Posted by Dina Fesler on December 8th 2009 in NEED Magazine, Organizations, Photo Essays
One of the founders of NEED, Kelly Kinnunen, is working on a video documentary project in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is travelling with Dina Fesler of the nonprofit Children’s Culture Connection. Among other places, they have been visiting Charahee Qambar, an IDP camp where people are living in desperate conditions with very little aid. Dina emailed an update about what they are doing and we wanted to share it with you.
Because of the press coverage, Helmand Children’s Medical Fund got a lot of donations, so Sunday was a busy day at the hospital. So far we have brought 26 children from the IDP camp to the hospital for desperately needed medical treatment. In addition to our first three patients suffering from malnourishment, there have been cases of severe pneumonia, tonsillitis and respiratory tract infections. We are providing a three week supply of milk to every child upon discharge from the hospital to help them continue to gain strength. It’s just a few bucks but will go a long way in their recovery. Depending on how strong donations come in, we may buy blankets for them as well. It’s hard to get better when you can’t stay warm, and the weather is getting steadily colder.
(I’ve also personally discovered that you can’t get better from a cold if you don’t stop running around for five minutes … but that’s my own problem to deal with. I’ll recover when I get home, just in time to do my holiday shopping. That’s always relaxing!)
Through visiting an organization called Aschiana and meeting a family, we got an incredible glimpse into the lives of Afghanistan’s youth, and saw what these kids are made of despite their difficult situations.
Aschiana serves thousands of Kabul’s impoverished street children who are forced to work at young ages to help feed their families. Due to the effects of war, many children become the heads of their families at a young age. Aschiana provides half day schooling, sports facilities, artisan training and art therapy to help these kids get an education, take pride in themselves and imagine the possibilities of a different life.
It all started ten years ago when Mohammad Yousef, the founder and current director, was having his shoes polished by a young boy on the streets. While talking with the boy, Yousef instantly saw how bright he was. The boy explained that he couldn’t go to school because he had to work to provide for his family. Yousef thought that even though he couldn’t change the economic realities of the boy’s family, perhaps he could provide enough support to help redirect the course of the boy’s future and others like him. He started Aschiana with that goal. Ten years later, there are still thousands of kids out on the streets who must polish shoes, wash cars, or sell chewing gum to survive, but because of Aschiana, many of them have become skilled artisans and craftsmen, and have gotten an education that they otherwise wouldn’t have had.
We spent the second part of the day visiting the home of a family with an epic story who, like many Afghan families, have struggled through decades of war. With their three girls and one boy, they were tortured by the Taliban, escaped to a Pakistani refugee camp, lost a son, used opium to subdue the pain and hunger, and lived in an empty bombed-out building because they couldn’t afford rent anywhere else. (Have I mentioned that Najib knows absolutely everyone?) They’ve had more than their share of hard times, but they are hardworking people and little by little they have been getting back on their feet. With the help of a social worker they kicked their opium addiction and moved back to Kabul. The father works as a cook in a military hospital, the mother works in a raisin factory for $5 per day, and they now have just enough money to rent a home. Their new home is basically two cement rooms with a ceiling caving in, no heat, electricity, water or plumbing (just think of an austere garage with rugs on the floor and you’ll be getting close) but it was the best home they have had in years and they were proud to invite us over for lunch to celebrate.
What is most incredible about this family is 14-year-old Karema. A real firecracker, she runs the household while her parents work, including cooking, cleaning and taking care of the other children. From the first moment she came outside to greet us with her infectious smile and firm handshake, I knew I was meeting someone very special. We interviewed her while she cooked us lunch and learned that she can’t go to school because she needs to run the home while her parents raise enough money for the family to eat and pay rent, but that doesn’t stop her from learning on her own. More importantly, it doesn’t stop her from dreaming big. I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she was dead serious when she answered that she wants to be a journalist. More specifically, a TV news reporter. There was no doubt in my mind that that is what she should be, so after lunch Kelly and I gave her a crack at the real thing. We got her mic’d up and had her give a full report on the goings-on of the day. The kid was a natural!
Karema is an example of a kid who is already imagining a new possibility for her life, and I want to help redirect her future as soon as possible. You know my wheels are turning as to how I will get this girl back in school to make this happen, and mark my words, I will think of something.
Children’s Culture Connection Aschiana Friends of Aschiana War Kids Relief (Donations can be made to this project through War Kids Relief. Please indicate HCMF in the PayPal memo.)
