Children’s Support Centers

After WAW’s first shelters were successfully established in 2003, WAW went to work to raise funds and develop programming for our first Children’s Support Center (CSC), which opened in Kabul in November 2009.

The CSC program was established to:

• Ensure no children over the age of 5 are living in prison with their incarcerated mothers.
• Create a safe, living environment for at-risk children and children of incarcerated parent/s.
• Provide at-risk children and children of incarcerated parent/s with comprehensive, alternative care and shelter to reduce the likelihood of child abuse, child labor, child marriage, and exploitation by insurgent groups and human traffickers
• Increase the ability of children to safely and successfully reintegrate their parent/s after the release of the latter from prison, or with extended families, communities, and society.

WAW’s first Children’s Support Center was established in Kabul in 2009. From 2009 until August 2021, five more CSCs were established in Badakhshan, Balkh, Herat, Kandahar, and Nangarhar. These Children’s Support Centers (CSCs) were established to be residences for children, between the ages of 5 and 18 living who were forced to live with their mothers in prison, or whose mothers and/or fathers are still incarcerated.

However, while our CSCs have been a lifesaving refuge for these children, the Taliban takeover led to a dramatic cut in funding to these centers that was followed by the Taliban ban on women working in NGOs. Coupled with risks to dubious security considerations in some provinces, the lack of funding and the ban on women working have all severely restricted our ability to provide children with the comprehensive care they need in our physical centers.

Under our care, girls and boys in the CSCs program are provided with new clothing, have clean and and comfortable bedding, enjoy nutritious meals and snacks, participate in all kinds of recreational activities, and receive round-the-clock care, counseling, and tutoring, in addition to regular medical care. Where possible, eligible children (girls up to grade 6 and boys) are enrolled in school. Girls have been banned from school after the 6th grade by the current de facto authorities.

Children attend classes in Mathematics, Computers, Sociology, Science, Islamic Studies, Dari, and English. Children who are not prepared for school entrance exams attend accelerated learning courses. Those in school attend supplementary classes where they pose questions and receive homework assistance. Every WAW CSC includes a library that fosters a love for learning and reading.

Though most children have never been to school prior to arriving at WAW’s CSCs, many quickly rise to the top of their class.

The vast majority of the children at WAW’s CSCs also require special attention and care as a result of past trauma. To address this, the CSC psychologists conduct individual and group counseling sessions. Additionally, children undergo medical checkups, regularly visit their mothers in prison, and participate in cultural and recreational activities. WAW also advocates on behalf of children remaining with their mothers in prison to improve their living conditions and supports successful reintegration of families.

WAW CSC staff also regularly conducts education sessions in Afghanistan’s prisons for prison officials and incarcerated mothers to educate them about the CSC’s services and to advocate for children’s rights. Parenting classes are also conducted by WAW staff in order to prepare mothers for children’s visits and their eventual reintegration.