In a remote village in northern Afghanistan affected by explosive remnants of war, Save the Children, with support from the Security and Rule of Law (NL–SROL) programme, provided mine risk awareness training to children and communities.
Ehsan*, 13 years old, lives in northern Afghanistan with his family of eight members, including his three sisters, two brothers, and his parents. Wasiq* 35 his father, who is a teacher at one of the schools of the village. In the village where they live, the community faces the danger of explosive remnants of war, causing serious risks to children and families during their daily movements and activities.
Save the Children, with support of the Security and Rule of Law (NL–SROL) programme, provides mine risk awareness to the children of the village. These sessions inform children about the danger of mine and unknown objects. Ehsan* identified the tip of a fired bullet near his home. Remembering the mine risk awareness sessions, he immediately, without touching or throwing the bullet, reported it to his family and his teacher. Relevant stakeholders safely removed the bullet, preventing the danger of explosion and harm to Ehsan* and his family. Ehsan* and his father expressed their gratitude for the session. His father said that these training courses increased children’s knowledge about their safety and security.
Beyond safety, the children are learning: about their rights, mathematics, the Holy Quran, and moral education, and also they are encouraged to share their personal aspirations. Ehsan* dreams of becoming a doctor to help people free of charge.
Ehsan*13 Shared:
"My other siblings are younger than me. I help them with their lessons. I tell them when you find a bullet, don’t touch it. I tell them when they see an iron object, they should not touch it because that is a mine. If they see it, they should go and inform the community elder.”
Wasiq*35 Shared:
"I have seen so much improvement in my children. If I weren’t seeing these changes, I wouldn’t let them come here. Every night I ask questions from them about their lessons and check their notebooks. I ask them what they have learned and what they haven’t. Did they go somewhere other than the class? And also, the next day I asked their teacher if they had studied. These classes are sufficient for them. They have learned about good and bad things and about unknown objects."
