This new education experience brings so much joy to children’s lives and hope to the youth that they can become something in the future – and it truly does change lives.

For example, Gul Makay, our program manager in Afghanistan, one day heard from a girl who she had consistently seen picking up cans for money. The girl approached Gul and said, “Why don’t you take me to school?” 

Gul said: “I can’t take you, because you are also begging and, to stay in class, you have to stop and I have to get consent from your parents.”’

The girl talked to her father, and within a couple months was able to start in the program. 

“After a month (at school), I went in to check on these girls, and she was basically the number 1 in the class,” Gul said. This young girl was shocked at her own intelligence. The program also has a huge impact on parents, who are happy to have this opportunity for their children.