TİKA Gave Hope to Street Children in Mazar i Sharif

A new education project has been launched for children working on the streets and avenues, with the support of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and in cooperation with the Directorate of Labor and Social Affairs of Balkh Province.

120 working children were identified as a result of the observational study conducted by the Directorate of Labor and Social Affairs of Balkh Province on street children. Launched with the help of TİKA, the campaign “Kids, Let’s Go to School!” aims to help these children go back to school. In the province, many children between the ages of 7 and 15 work on the streets under difficult conditions to provide for their families.

As part of the project, educational materials were distributed to these children, and their families were provided with food and cleaning supplies. The delivery ceremony was attended by Deputy Consul-General of the Republic of Turkey Armağan Ardoğan, TİKA’s Mazar-i-Sharif Program Coordinator Fazıl Akın Erdoğan, Head of the Provincial Council of Balkh Province Dr. Muhammed Afzal Hadid, Director of Education Aliullah Emiri, Principal of Turkish Maarif Foundation Mazar-i-Sharif Afghanistan-Turkey Boys’ High School Şeref Koç, the principal and teaching staff of the girls’ high school, Director of Labor and Social Affairs of Balkh Province Metiullah Metin, and the employees of the directorate.

In his statement to the press at the delivery ceremony, Head of the Provincial Council of Balkh Province Dr. Muhammed Afzal Hadid expressed his gratitude to the Republic of Turkey and TİKA and noted that they have implemented an authentic project. He said that he believed it was crucial to enable children to go back to school by providing them with high-quality materials.

As part of the project, each student was provided with the necessary educational materials for one term and a school uniform.