Free School Opens for Working, Orphaned Children in Herat

A charity foundation in Herat has established a school providing free education for around one thousand working and orphaned children.

According to the officials of this charity foundation, both boys and girls study together in this school, and all educational expenses are covered by the organization.

Currently, the school provides education up to the sixth grade, but the foundation’s officials have stated that in the future, it will be upgraded to a high school.

Faiz Ahmad Khawafi, the head of the charity foundation, said about this school: “We have enrolled orphaned and homeless children in this program, especially those who beg or work on the streets and intersections. We have gathered them and included them in this school. I hope that one day we will witness a time when no Afghan child has to stand at a street corner. We are striving to expand this initiative to other provinces as well.”

Mohammad Yunus Mohmand, the deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, who was present at the ceremony, said: “The Afghan private sector believes in making progress in education and training. If we establish factories, build airplanes, and have a banking system, we are compelled and obligated to acquire education and training.”

In addition to education, vocational training courses are also offered to the children enrolled in this school.

 “I dream of becoming a doctor in the future so that I can help the needy and also be a useful person for my country,” Mujtaba, one of the students, told .

Mohammad Akram, another student, said: “I want to become a doctor in the future to help patients in the country.”

Jawid, a fourteen-year-old boy who polishes shoes on the streets of Herat from morning until evening to support his family, has never attended school. He said that going to school is just a dream for him.

 “I polish shoes every day. There is no money for me to go to school and study,” Jawid told .

The officials of this charity foundation said that in the future, they plan to provide free education for four thousand working and orphaned children in this school.

According to statistics, nearly ten thousand child laborers work on the streets of Herat. Local officials state that most of these children are deprived of education due to poverty.