Miles away in the streets of Nahaqi, Peshawar, a six-year-old girl, is selling snacks on the road side.
Sawira Bibi, a six-year-old girl from the Afghan refugee community makes her work seem effortless. Having never seen the inside of a school, she worked as a street vendor to augment the meagre income of her father who worked as an electrician.
HOPE’87’s field teams met the girl’s mother, who said “sending kids to school is very expensive, you have to pay the fee, buy the uniform, shoes, a bag and books, so it’s costly and we hardly meet our basic needs. Who would not want to send their kids to school instead of sending them to the streets to sell something?”
Through a door-to-door survey, more than 50 children of Afghan origin were identified in the area. HOPE 87 under the education project “Access for out of School Children to Education and Safe Schools in Pakistan” (AcCESS) opened a temporary learning center (TLCs) in the community. This is one of the 118 TLCs established in the 3 districts Khyber, Bannu and Peshawar for Afghan school children, where 4,955 students – of whom 2,378 are girls – are enrolled and get free education.
Sawira’s teacher said that she is very punctual and she is a quick learner. Her parents are very happy and grateful for this service, as every parent wants the best for their kids.
“I like coming here because I learn new things and have made new friends”, said Sawira.