A total of 175 orphaned and economically disadvantaged children in Afghanistan's Ghazni province have completed a six-month vocational training programme, receiving graduation certificates and work equipment to help them start their own businesses.
The programme was funded by the United Nations Children's Fund and run by the Afghanistan Development, Welfare and Social Services Organisation. Hamidullah Khurram, head of the group's Ghazni office, said participants were identified with the provincial labour department and placed in courses suited to their abilities.
Training covered baking, embroidery, shoemaking, solar-system installation and repair, mobile-phone repair and motorcycle repair. Each trainee received a monthly allowance of 2,500 afghanis and, on completion, professional equipment worth 26,000 afghanis.
Mawlawi Miladad Hassan, head of the Ghazni Department of Economy, said vocational schemes can cut unemployment and curb irregular migration. According to sources, about 75 national and international organisations are running projects worth roughly three billion afghanis in the province, alongside 28 government projects.
Several graduates said the skills and tools had given them hope of earning for their families. The implementing organisation said it would keep monitoring graduates and help them find workplaces.