Today is the UN Day Against Child Labour, a day that is not widely acknowledged in the media.
Decades of armed conflict have devastated Afghanistan's economy and employment opportunities for adults are scarce.
Many children are sent to work by their parents, just to survive.
Some children work as street vendors, porters, shoe-shiners, shop assistants or collect paper or metal off the streets. Other children work in brick factories or in the carpet industry.
Carpet weaving has a long tradition in Afghanistan and is one of the country's most important export goods.
35% of carpet weavers employ children under the age of 14 and 56% employ children younger than 17.
These children often work in hazardous conditions and are increasingly sent to work outside of their homes where they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
It's common for child weavers to suffer from physical and mental health issues and these issues often go unsupported.
“When I feel upset I sit alone in a corner to be alone there and weep, then I feel better and empty my heart.” - A 14-year old weaver interviewed for a Samuel Hall study
What is War Child doing?
We offer accelerated learning programmes that help street-working children to catch up with their education so that they can enrol into formal schools.
We also provide vocational training and small grants to the family members of the children who attend our accelerated learning centre.
As a result of this increase in family income, children no longer have to work on the streets and have a higher chance of being able to stay in school.