National Shura-e-Atfal 2011/1390

Voices of the children

For a full week 120 children from five provinces, 2 IDP camps, 2 handicap organizations and Aschiana gathered in AECC’s center in Kabul to share and discuss the problems they face.

The participating children in this 3rd National Children Shura organized by MMCC, Mobile Mini Circus for children and

AECC, Afghan Educational Children Circus, each represented many more children in:

-          Kabul

-          Herat

-          Bamyan

-          Jalalabad

-          Ghor

-          Baghlan Camp (IDP camp in KarteNaw/Bagrami, Kabul)

-          Taqab Camp (IDP camp in KarteNaw/Bagrami, Kabul)

-          CCD and Save the Children Afghanistan (Disability organizations, Kabul)

-          Aschiana (Center for Street working children, Kabul)

 www.afghanmmcc.org

Children Shura presentation in the Parliament

On Saturday, 17th December 2011, the children presented the result of their discussions for ministers, government officials, members of the parliament and the media. The presentations, that took place in the Parliament, were followed by promises by more of the Government officials to look into several of the issues raised by the children. It was a very remarkable day.

Note: The points marked with red color were the issues presented by the children in the Parliament with more details

        

The following official representatives and media attended the children’s presentation in the Parliament:

Representatives from: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Refugees, Ministry of Culture, Kabul Municipality, Members of Parliament (Women’s Affairs Commission) and ILO (International Labour Organization)

Media: 6 Televisions, 1 News Agency plus the Parliaments Media Center covered the event

 

Special Thanks to Fauzia Kofi (MP and Woman’s Affairs Commission) for assisting to facilitate the meeting in the Parliament

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the press:

Text and Photo in Bakhtar>

Text and Photo in Pajhwok>

Text and Photo Ariana News>

Video in VOA >

Video in Ariana News>

Text and Photo in Koofi.net(1)>

Text and Photo in Koofi.net(2)>

Newspaper in Singapoor>

 

 

 

General problems raised by all groups 

1.       Hard work

2.        No places for children to play

 

Ghor

1.       Lack of educated teachers in the schools

2.       Lack of parks for entertainment and playing for children

3.       Help those children who are not educated and don’t go to school – give them chance to go to school

4.       Hard working and the families push children to work

5.        Lack of entertainment program and media

 

Bamyan

1.       Hard work on children

2.       Lack of clinics

3.       Lack of schools

4.       Lack of parks and recreational places for children

5.       Some families don’t let their daughters go to school

6.       Scholarship for children

7.       More entertainment programs in television

8.       Lack of more and good food for the children

9.        Lack of clean water for drinking

Aschiana (main points)

1.       We don’t have fathers or our father is disabled or addicted – we should work on the street

2.       Economy problems makes hard working on children

3.       Traffic police should help street working children

4.       Establish more centers to support the children

5.       Government should listen and take care of the children and specially orphans and disabled

6.       Government should take care of fathers who are addicted to drugs

7.       Establish free clinics for street working children

8.       People say bad things. They call us car-washer or those who collect garbage on the street

9.       The families should get training – get skills

10.    We want to go to school - it is our wish

11.    We don’t have water- we live in the hills

12.     We are like refugees – we move from one place to another place

 

Baghlan camp (IDP-camp in Kabul)

1.       We don’t have a clinic in our camp

2.       Lack of power – electricity in the camp

3.       We don’t have place for children to play

4.       Lack of clean water

5.       Work for the youth – they are jobless

6.       No school class after 1st grade

7.        No access to public school

 

Kabul

1.       Lack of television programs for children

2.       Violence of teachers in schools – beating by teacher

3.       Teaching as practical lessons – learning practical not only on blackboard

4.       Establish committee of parents in the schools

5.       Lack of first aid in the schools

6.       Lack of traffic lessons and trafic information in schools

7.       Helping of the children that don’t have house or no place to live

8.       Increase of sickness and lack of attention for disabled

9.        Specify a special place for children who work on the street – assign a place

 

Jalalabad

1.       Economic problems and no jobs

2.       Lack of materials in the schools – for teachers to use

3.       Lack of chairs and classrooms – and no walls in schools

4.       We want to exercise but there is no place to practice

5.       We don’t have enough food

6.       Basic problem is lack of place to practice

7.       There should be a chance for us to play and work easily

8.       Our club don’t have materials

9.       We need circus costumes

10.     During practice we should have a chance to play and also play football

 

Save the children and CCD (main points)

1.       People should respect disabled – because we are disabled they don’t care about us

2.       Bad eye – people get away from us because we are disabled

3.       The disabled children don’t have access to the educational centers – there are not many centers for disabled

4.       Transport problems for disabled children

5.       Lack of clinics for disabled children

6.       The rights of disabled children is not equal to others

7.       The government don’t show attention on disabled children’s rights

8.       The disabled don’t have access to materials and things

9.       The others and society count us a low level persons

10.    There is no difference between disabled and other people in society – we like everybody else

11.     They call us the words of disabled – all the same always disabled (no leg or eye is the same)

 

Taqab camp (IDP camp in Kabul)

1.       No water in the camp

2.       Lack of place for children to play

3.       No class and class rooms and school

4.       Lack of supporting organizations or centers to help with food etc

5.        Lack of work for the parents of the children in the camp

 

Herat

1.        Violence against the children

2.        Hard work on children

3.        Families are selling their children

4.        Hard working in warm areas and bad environment

5.        There is no center or government department that should listen and take care of children’s problems

6.        Put a complain box

7.        Good education for the children

Note: The points marked with red color were the issues presented by the children in the Parliament with more details