International Day against Child Labour recently highlighted the continuing hardships some children have to face just to survive. Rough estimates by the International Labour Organisation show that worldwide, more than 200 million children can be found at work. Around 30% of Afghan children aged 5 to 14 are engaged in some form of work.

In Afghanistan, child labour is a growing issue which is rooted in poverty, political instability, social insecurity, increasing food prices and extreme weather. These issues make the livelihood of helpless families, especially widows and orphans, extremely difficult. As a result, children are forced to work to help their families. Most of these children are engaged in planting and harvesting, shepherding, gathering firewood to sell in towns and households, village sanitation projects, labour work as mechanics, water pump menders, at bakeries, labour work with masons and many other manual labour occupations. According to IRIN (which provides news and analysis of humanitarian affairs to the UN), girls in Afghanistan face particular disadvantages and hardships because of discriminatory traditional practices and attitudes. They are expected to take on unpaid household work for their families, which may include childcare, cooking, cleaning and fetching water and fuel. The main concern is that hundreds of children toil as workers in coalmines, especially in central and northern Afghanistan. According to the IRIN, hundreds of child workers who work in coal mines are subdued by respiratory and eye infections. Regular inhalation of coal dust can cause serious respiratory and lung diseases. Harmful bacteria and dirt in coal dust can also damage the eyes. Child coal miners also face other risks – mine collapses, fires, lack of oxygen, coal gas, and back or ligament injuries caused by lifting heavy objects – workers and local officials said.

Focus on child education

Afghanistan has been working towards establishing a functional society for decades. As a result of war, the country’s total infrastructure of education has destroyed and illiteracy is one of the factors that hinder the development of Afghanistan. To combat growing child labour concerns in Afghanistan, international organisations such as the European Union, UNICEF, and other Non-Governmental Organisations assist the education sector so that Afghan children can have a secure and prosperous future. According to the European Union, more than half of the Afghanistan’s population is under the age of 18, and up to 30% of children are employed in nearly every industry. The European Union supports social protection in Afghanistan and has already spent over 15 million euro in support of that, and will invest approximately 16 million euro before 2013 into the fight against child labour. So far, nearly 50,000 children have benefited from this aid, including 4,000 working children, who now have access to education. UNICEF is supporting the National Strategy for Children at Risk, which aims to help the most vulnerable families protect and care for their children. With support from local communities, UNICEF is also facilitating the reintegration of out-of-school children. More than 160,000 children across 26 provinces are now attending UNICEF-assisted community-based schools.

Along with international bodies, with the help of Australian schools, donations and sponsorship programs, Mahboba’s Promise is devoted to addressing all the hurdles that prevent the orphans from not only attending but excelling at school.