Mohammad Muneer , 14 and the oldest of six children , attends CAI High School in Kabul . His sisters also used to go to the same school , but after their father lost his job and the family couldn ’ t afford the school fees , the girls shifted to a government school , “ even though the teachers and the lessons are better at CAI school ,” the sixth-grader said .
To cover his school expenses , Muneer works every afternoon in a small shop , helping customers with photocopies , passport photos , computer supplies , and mobilephone repairs . He earns 100 afghani per week ($ 2 ) for roughly 26 hours of work .
“ My father is educated to class 12 ,” but his job as a driver ended earlier this year when the international community began to withdraw from Afghanistan . “ Now he is jobless ,” Muneer explained , tears filling his eyes .
“ So for three months I have worked there — every afternoon ,” he said . “ After school I ride my bicycle home and eat . Then I come back to the shop here in this neighborhood . The low pay is because there is no business , no clients .”
Muneer knows the value of education . But the stress at home and the hours he spends at work each day take a toll on his academic success .
As he told his story , CAI-Afghanistan director Wakil Karimi listened . Afterwards he said the school has need-based scholarships for students and Muneer and his sisters would each get one . “ We don ’ t know these things unless the students tell us ,” Karimi said . “ There is so much pride in Afghanistan . No one will say his family is starving .”
Mohammad Muneer , 14 , works in a small print shop in Kabul to cover his school expenses .
Poverty is at the heart of the matter for most families . School-age children are called upon to help families “ generate cash income to cover the costs of food , health , and the education of their siblings ,” Gordon Brown , the United Nations special envoy for education , wrote in a 2012 report on child labor and educational disadvantage .
“ But many children are working at least in part because education is unaffordable , inaccessible , or seen as irrelevant ,” he said . “ The relationship between education and child labor is complex .”
When determining whether a child should work or go to school , families do a sort of “ cost-benefit analysis ,” the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit ( AREU ), an independent research institute in Kabul , found . Families consider three factors :
� School quality : In cases where schools are overcrowded and in poor condition , and / or teachers are unmotivated and even abusive , children struggle to learn . This leads some parents to conclude , as one mother said , “ What ’ s the point ?”
� Cost of education : Even in government-run schools families are expected to pay for uniforms , stationery , and even gifts for teachers in exchange for passing grades .
� Potential reward : Some families said
KINDS OF CHILD LABOR
Child labor covers a wide spectrum of activities , from caring for siblings , collecting water and firewood or helping with agriculture-related work at home , to manufacturing ( soccer balls , bricks , carpets , textiles ), often in sweat shops , child prostitution , slavery and armed conflict . Experts tend to group child labor into roughly five categories :
Family work : “ Unpaid family work accounts for an estimated 72 percent of child labor for girls and 64 percent for boys ,” the UN reports . “ The most prevalent types of labor are sibling care and domestic household chores , dominated by girls , and agricultural tasks , dominated by boys .”
Bonded labor : Some children are forced to work as bonded laborers , also known as indentured servants , the U . S . Department of Labor ’ s Bureau of International Labor Affairs reported . Families become bonded after borrowing money from a landowner to cover a medical emergency or even just routine necessities , money that they are then unable to repay . “ Their movements may be restricted by armed guards and they may be subjected to violence or resale .” Physical and sexual abuse is also common in these situations .
12 | Journey of Hope C E N T R A L A S I A I N S T I T U T E