Afghanistan's orphaned children finding new hope

SBS World News Radio: As the battle to suppress insurgency continues throughout Afghanistan, behind the walls of several shelters in the same areas, children are fighting against adversity in the hope of a brighter future.

Afghanistan's orphaned children finding new hopeAfghanistan's orphaned children finding new hope

Afghanistan's orphaned children finding new hope

Funded with the help of Australians, more than 900 young Afghans have a chance of inheriting a safer nation.

Young Afghan children, preoccupied with kites and footballs, a world away from the dangers of their fractured homeland.

There are about 300 young Afghans seeking safety at the Hope House Orphanages, scattered across Afghanistan.

Among these children are those who've suffered through the insurgency, losing either one or both parents, and others whose families have broken down, says Sediq Rawi, co-founder of Hope House.

"What we did is to bring the feeling and the hope and the friendship of the Australian people back to the kids of Afghanistan."

It's an orphanage with a connection to Australia, founded by an Afghan refugee who now calls Australia home.

It survives through public donations and the support of the Australian embassy in Kabul, where the children find themselves today, riding the bikes purchased for them by embassy staff.

The Australian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Matt Anderson, says it's an extraordinary contrast to the hostile environment just outside these walls.

"It's important in a place like Kabul, in particular, to embrace normalcy when you can find it and this is a very, very normal thing to do. There's no doubt that Kabul is a can be a confronting security situation but for these kids, having visited their orphanage, they're as safe in their orphanage as they can be and hopefully they're as safe here as they can be."

Through the orphanages, they attend public schools and there's a focus on helping them become self-sufficient.

Semin Qasmi, from the Australian Embassy, hopes they'll inherit a more peaceful and secure future.

"In most provinces in most parts of the country where the insurgency is the main issue there are kids who don't have these opportunities so the ones who are given these opportunities, definitely it provides them with hope."

14 years since the Hope House's inception, the shelter has seen its first group of children graduate.

They're not only qualifying for university, but some have married and started their own families.

 






Share

2 min read

Published


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world