Afghanistan’s school for street kids and the Singaporean doctor behind it
- Breshna started working at age six to support herself after her parents died, but Dr Wee Teck Young’s non-profit organisation in Kabul has given her – and many others like her – respite, food and a future
Every AFTERNOON, as the neighbourhood of Pul-e-Surkh in the Afghan capital of Kabul starts to come alive, 10-year-old Breshna takes her bag of socks and chewing gum and starts working the local cafes, shops and supermarkets. In scrappy clothes and with hands numb from the cold, she walks from business to business bearing her items for sale – as well as the heartache of losing her mother and father.
Breshna was six years old when her father died of cancer, thrusting her into a life of work while most other children were starting school. Two years later, her mother died, leaving the eight-year-old to fend almost entirely for herself while living with her grandparents and an aunt.
But since last year, her weekends have been different. She has been able to take time off work and attend the Borderfree Afghan Street Kids School, run by Afghan Peace Volunteers, where she learns the Dari language, non-violence, art, life skills and maths.
“There is an ongoing war here. Every day people die. This is not life. This is not healthy,” said Dr Wee Teck Young, an international mentor of the Afghan Peace Volunteers. “We need to make fundamental changes to build a better life for more people.”
My experiences with Najib and other Afghan refugees like him made me feel very human and alive
