Children in Crisis, an organization that champions youth education and children’s rights, has worked in Afghanistan for nearly two decades to increase access to local schools and meet the basic needs of young Afghans in five provinces. One of the organization’s major projects involves educating children in the poorest districts of Kabul through various community-based education centers (CBECs). Services offered by the centers include three-year primary school education, homework support for children studying at other institutions, and vocational training and literacy courses for women.
To protect the most vulnerable children in Afghanistan, Children in Crisis also maintains a social worker training project across several provinces. This program involves collaboration between social workers, police officers, and legal representatives to respond to common issues and provide the highest level of protection possible. Understanding how social structures in Afghanistan changed as a result of decades of conflict, Children in Crisis engineered this program to address some of the most troubling shortcomings of the existing system.
The social worker training program complements Children in Crisis’ child rights training initiative, which the organization undertook after a survey revealed the frequency with which Afghan adults use violence to discipline children. The initiative works to increase physical protections for Afghan children and make individuals more aware of the basic rights that children possess.
Results of the work undertaken by Children in Crisis are apparent in several case studies listed on the organization’s website. Through its impact on individual children, the organization can judge the effectiveness programs and learn about the future envisioned by Afghan children.