39. Aschiana Street Children's Center

Today, I visited the Aschiana Street Children's Center. This place is very special to me as it was one of the very first programs I visited when I arrived in Kabul for the first time 8 years ago. I was so happy to see that it still operates today and that they have grown so big. There are over 70,000 children that work on the streets of Afghanistan to earn a living for their families. This number has grown from 35000 in 2005. These children usually don't have the means to go to school and live under extreme conditions. Aschiana provides them with basic literacy and vocational training for 4 hours a day and provides them a hot meal. They also learn about basic hygiene and health education as well as sports and exercise classes. They also have this amazing program called the "piggy bank" program where the children can open bank accounts to save their money. And of course the best part is the Art Gallery where the children's work are displayed and offered for sale. The proceeds go back to the child and to the center. Here is a link to their official website if you are interested in learning more about them or if you want to help: http://www.aschiana.com/