KABUL (Tolo News): Hundreds of child workers have been taken off the streets and brought into training camps by the Ministry of Public Works in cooperation with some international organizations in the western province of Herat. The children will receive training in trades and will be allowed to continue their general schooling.
The program is expected to include at least 1,550 children. “Every child is provided with 79 dollars per month, which will support a family, these children will not be on the streets anymore,” said Ahmad Sabit, acting head of the provincial department of Public Works. The first round of the program will take in 550 children.
This comes as Afghanistan has recently been recognized as the world’s worst country for children, as the country is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with a fragile economy. Earlier, Save the Children reported that one-in-five families have been forced to send their children to work due to severe poverty.
“I am happy that the government came and took us to get an education. They help us to study,” said Mohammad Daud, a child laborer. “I work as shoe polisher to earn some money to bring food to the family,” said Masoud, a child laborer. The families of the children will receive monthly payments to allow their children to go to schools.
“Around 1600 children will be included in the process. The process will last for six months. They will be trained to be able to work independently,” said Mohammad Asif Folad, a representative of the German Help organization in Herat. There is no information about the exact number of children engaged in labor in Herat. However, thousands of families have been displaced from various provinces to Herat and are currently facing severe economic conditions and therefore they are forced to send their children to work.
