Director’s Message "Looking towards the future"

Looking towards the future I hope that there will not be a child deprived of a parents love and care. Today in Afghanistan, many children are forced to perform toiling work and acts contrary to the conventional rights of the child, deprived of an education and deprived of essential opportunities of life.

I look forward to a time where all the people of the world strive for children’s well being.

With the expectation that all the leaders of the world strive for the creation of worldwide peace and harm free environments for all children without biases of race, language, religion, nationality, region, political and economical thoughts.

A world where children are safe, loved and cared for.

10 years again I was walking home from work and a child asked if I needed my shoes polished. I stopped and sat down whilst a child of about 11 began polishing my shoes. I asked him why he was not at school. There was a long pause, the child looked up at me with much anger in his face and replied how can I go to school when I have the responsibility of bringing money home to my family. We do not have enough to feed ourselves, how do you think I could pay for school books or clean clothes?

It was after that meeting that I realized that there were many children in the same situation as that boy and so Aschiana evolved. A place where children, many children like that boy could seek refuge from the streets, be educated, play, receive health care and psychosocial support.