James' Eyewitness Report

Children in Crisis’ Trust and Major Donor Manager, James Hickman visited our programmes in Kabul, Afghanistan.  He recorded his experience in one of the world’s most vulnerable countries:

“Three decades of fighting have left Kabul in an extremely dilapidated state.  The roads are full of pot holes, buildings that were previously two or three stories high now have only a ground floor and lie in ruins and houses often consist of makeshift tents anchored to the walls of destroyed buildings.  The adult literacy rate in Afghanistan is estimated to be 28%, a fraction of neighbouring countries.

On a recent trip to Kabul I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit our Community Education Centres, which provide educational support services to the most deprived areas in Kabul.  On the morning of my second day in Kabul I visited our centre in Deh Murad Khan, one of the poorest areas of Kabul.  The track into the community was dirt and rubble and had foot deep potholes which the 4x4 struggled to contend with.  The community seemed busy and bustling, small shops set up in derelict buildings sold whatever they could while some more established vendors had makeshift glass fronts and more organised stock. 

I stepped out of the truck and it became immediately apparent that the community had no access to plumbing or a sewage system.  Flies buzzed around the open sewers and a group of children played near a large pool of stagnant water.  One of the most important functions of the centre in Deh Murad Khan is the teaching of health education to families and community members.  Basic lessons such as hand washing and food preparation save lives here, were the infant mortality rate is one in four.

Stepping through the gate into the centre I was faced by a clean looking two story building, with a small courtyard and the unmistakable sound of children answering their teacher’s questions.  I had the chance to view children in several different lessons, accelerated learning classes for children who are too old to join grade 1 so are taught grades 1 and 2 in a year to join grade 3, as well as homework support lessons where children who are in school but struggle with their lessons can bring problems they have and get help from other students and the community teacher.  One thing that struck me about these classes was how happy the children were to be there.  Questions were answered enthusiastically and children were often afforded the one to one attention they would rarely get in state school.

The children were eager to talk to me and I was able to ask them about their lessons and what they wanted to do with their lives.  Many of the children enjoy their lessons on Dari (one of the national languages) as it involves stories and cultural tales.  It was great to hear the enthusiasm with which they described their lessons and especially good to hear that the dreams and aspirations of these children, from the poorest background imaginable, are the same as any child in the UK.  They want to be engineers and doctors, pilots and teachers.  Hopefully with their newfound access to education they will be able to achieve their dreams.

I also had the chance to view a tailoring and women’s literacy classes in action.  The centres teach women skills so they are able to support their families financially and their children with their schooling.  When I asked one woman what she thought of the classes she replied:
“Now I can make clothes for my family and can use the money I save to buy food for my family and sometimes stationary for my children to use at school.  Thank you.”

I got time to sit and talk in depth with a young girl named Simor who is on the accelerated education course.  Simor’s story is a common one in the poorer communities of Kabul, she currently does not go to school because her Father is very conservative, and would not allow her to take part in education as he considered schools unsafe for girls.  He was also completely uneducated and did not fully understand what education entails and what the benefits are.  After meetings with the team leader and social worker who work at the centre her Father was convinced that going to the centre would be safe because of the female teachers.  Now he has seen the results of his daughter’s progress on the accelerated learning course he understands the value of an education and is willing to allow has daughter to attend state school when she has finished the course.

It seems pretty common among the girls and women being taught at the centre that the men in the family were originally against the idea of them going to a centre with boys in and getting an education.  It’s a testament to the social workers and staff at the centres that so many of these cases are convinced that education really is the best thing for their families.  Everyone I interviewed, both boys, girls and women, said that the visits of the staff to their families had changed the course of their lives, they really had no idea where to turn for help and were scraping out a life in their community but feel that the centres have given them opportunities they did not even know existed before.

My return to the Children in Crisis office gave me the chance to reflect on my trip to the community centre.  The changes in the lives of those at the centre, particularly of the girls and women, are quite profound.  Before the fall of the Taliban they were denied any access to education whatsoever, in fact Children in Crisis ran covert schools for women so they had some access to education.  Now they are able to access literacy, vocational training and courses which will lead to their integration into state schools and the new opportunities available there.

I very much hope I get the chance to return to Kabul at some point in the future to see what this new, educated generation can achieve and how they go about carving out a new future for their city and nation."

The community education centre in Deh Murad Khan is funded by The Economist Group Charitable Trust. If you are interested in funding a centre like Deh Murad Khan, please contact the fundraising team.