Sakina learns how to stay safe during COVID-19

Sakina, ten-year-old girl and her family were forced to leave their home in Pashtun Zarghon district of Afghanistan to search for livelihood opportunities and security in Herat city. Now they live in extremely challenging conditions, struggling to meet basic needs. Sakina’s father transports goods and her mother washes clothes to earn an income. Unfortunately, Sakina must also work; she embroids sacks to support the household income.

Last year, Sakina’s father decided that the family could no longer afford to send her to school, “My father was always saying that he did not have extra money to spend on my notebooks and pens” she said.

Through the World Vision Afghanistan Street Working Children Enrichment Center, the team engaged with her father to provide awareness around the importance of education. He learnt that education is not only a child right, but also essential for learning life skills for children to build a better future for themselves and their communities. World Vision also provided essential school materials including books, pens, a uniform and a bag. Sakina also receives ongoing educational support through the centre to ensure she remains engaged and confident in school.

Sakina was very excited to start the new school year, knowing that she has her father’s support, along with the material items required to attend school. She dreamed of being a doctor to help other disadvantaged and vulnerable children. “Thinking of my dream, I was hopeful for my future” Sakina explains. But the coronavirus epidemic had negative consequences on Sakina and her father’s livelihoods and they both lost their opportunity to earn money “we became jobless due to coronavirus and the city lockdown” Sakina added.

Sakina is in World Vision Afgahnistan Street Working Children Enrichment Center.

Sakina’s mother earned all household expenses, including the rent. However, she didn’t earn enough to make ends meet. Sakina was forced to start work with her, “so I started to do laundry with my mother” she explains about her new job.

Unfortunately Sakina had an allergic reaction on her hands from the excessive amount of contact with detergent, so she visited the World Vision Afghanistan Street Working Children Enrichment Center to see a doctor for medical treatment, “After some days my hands sensitized due to direct contacts with laundry detergent and it was itching, so I went to enrichment center for the treatment.”

During this visit, Sakina noticed the changes in the centre since the COVID-19 outbreak. “Everything was different and we sat far from each other.” She engaged with the staff at the centre who provided her with child friendly risk mitigation messages, learning how to best keep her and her family safe.  

Now that Sakina is empowered with knowledge related to coronavirus prevention strategies, and as a #hiddenhero, she is passing the protective messages to other children in her community “I learnt to follow hygiene practices to be safe, and I share this knowledge with the children from the houses I do laundry,” she said proudly.

World Vision Afghanistan considers meaningful, safe, and appropriate participation of children and youth to be a key for ensuring sustained child well-being; children are empowered to be leaders of positive change in their communities. 

World Vision Afghanistan COVID-19 Response to Street Working Children

The coronavirus pandemic has severely and negatively affected street working children. Many of parents lost their jobs and access to livelihood opportunities, forcing children to work more; children who previously attended school no longer have the opportunity to do so. The World Vision Afghanistan Street Working Children Enrichment Centre provides essential support to vulnerable children and their families including medical services, psycho-social support, life skills activities and an opportunity to engage with peers. The centre also provides crucial awareness raising activities with COVID-19 risk mitigation sessions conducted for 2,747 (boys: 1380, girls: 1367) street working children, and 1,621 care givers. In addition, 1012 hygiene kits have been distributed to the children to ensure safe practices. The project is funded by World Vision Korea.

Learn more about and/or support World Vision’s global work to limit the spread of COVID-19 and support the children impacted by it on our COVID-19 Emergency Response Page.