Even though the number of orphaned/abandoned children in Pakistan is rising, in February 2022, just nine of 68 public orphanages in Afghanistan were operational in addition to 36 privately-run orphanages. Due to the economic crisis in Afghanistan, orphanages have faced funding challenges, rendering them unable to meet the basic needs of children. For this reason, orphanages had to resort to sending thousands of children to live with relatives. Even children with relatives may have nowhere to go because their relatives are incapable of providing for them. Financial difficulties across the board have led to fewer adoptions and a decrease in foster family applications. With funding and support, orphanages in Afghanistan can continue to care for the country’s most vulnerable children.

Hayat Orphanage

Hayat Orphanage, located in the middle of Laghman Province, came about in March 2013. Giving orphans shelter, food, clothing, medication and quality education services, Hayat Orphanage is devoted not only to protecting children from abuse but equipping them with adequate skills and knowledge to enable them to achieve self-sufficiency and independence.

The children from Hayat Orphanage attend local private schools to receive quality education and receive after-school tutoring in mathematics, English and computer technology. The students also participate in extra-curricular activities.

Moreover, Hayat Orphanage is involved with various community projects. This includes meeting local leaders to “raise awareness for female education,” addressing obstacles that are preventing girls’ education, recruiting volunteers from the U.K. to teach children English, preventing child marriage, fighting discrimination against several minorities, supporting female health care and combating domestic violence, among other causes.

Hayat Orphanage’s Sabar Afghan Online School provides free classes on YouTube for boys and girls from grades 1-12. For girls who cannot attend school due to the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education, the Sabar Afghan Online School is a lifeline. According to its website, the school “employ[s] women teachers to show [its] support for gender equality and to facilitate a more equitable Afghani society in the long term.”

As of now, Hayat Orphanage assists more than 100 orphans, but its mission is to support 2,000 orphans across Afghanistan.

Afghan Child Education and Care Organization

Fully registered since 2008, Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO) is a nonprofit organization based in Kabul. Andeisha Farid, the founding director, gained inspiration to help Afghan children after facing the consequences of war and displacement as a child. She created a place of refugee for children in Pakistan in 2004. With AFCECO, Andeisha endeavors to provide a nurturing environment for children.

CharityHelp International, a U.S. organization that “funds programs through a child sponsorship program,” works with AFCECO. This partnership “allows individuals from around the world to form bonds with the child of their choice and participate in sustaining the orphanage by paying some or all of the cost of providing that child with her or his needs.”

AFCECO runs 11 orphanages, nine in Afghanistan and two in Pakistan for refugees, which overall tend to about 700 children. The orphanages consist of rented houses. Anywhere from 30 to 80 children live in each one, depending on the size of the house. Along with regular meals, the children are given a range of responsibilities, including household chores.

In addition, AFCECO carries out a variety of services for the children including a Leadership Academy for older girls, a New Learning Center and health clinics. AFCECO also sends ill children to the U.S. for specific treatment and brings children to Europe and the U.S. for temporary scholarship programs.

The Impact of the Taliban Takeover

In 2021, AFCECO faced setbacks when the Taliban seized control of Kabul and attempted to dismantle the organization. The Mehan home, a refuge for many AFCECO children, had to shut down. AFCECO continued operating but in a not-so-visible manner. It set up six safe houses in Afghanistan with up to 10 children and “house parents from the same region” so each safe house “appears to be an ordinary home for an extended family” and does not raise suspicion from neighbors or the Taliban.

As of now, approximately 80 children live in the safe houses. When the Taliban shut down schools, these homes led education classes in secret, often taught by house parents and female teachers whom the Taliban prohibited from working. Currently, children in grades 1 to 9 attend hidden private schools, including girls older than 12 who cannot attend school due to the Taliban’s ban.

Kankor prep classes are available to older children to prepare them for university entrance exams and a scholarship program is available to AFCECO graduates to help with higher education tuition and living expenses. AFCECO, with its multiple orphanages in Afghanistan, seeks not only to assist each child in living a prosperous life but to motivate them to positively impact their country.

Looking Ahead

Afghanistan has about 2 million orphans, with thousands more living on the streets, unable to meet their basic needs. By protecting children and giving them the tools to become self-reliant, these orphanages in Afghanistan provide hope to children in a country ravaged by war and poverty. With continued funding and support, the Hayat Orphanage and AFCECO can continue their critical work.

– Megan Roush
Photo: Flickr