Bismillah, a 11-year-old boy, is one among the 350 children attending the JRS Community Development Centre in one of the IDP camps in Kabul. The shabby tarpaulin sheets that are supported by some bamboos to provide shelter, he calls his home. Unfortunately, most of the children in his vicinity are living under similar circumstances.

“After I finish my class in the camp, I go to collect bread and beg for food together with my father to provide at least one meal for our family. We usually get food for one-meal every day, but we never know what we will eat the next day” Bismillah explains, thus describing his ‘spare-time’ activity after completing his time at the JRS centre.

Bismillah looks very happy, when a snack is provided at the JRS centre as, due to this, he does not need to be on the street to find his lunch. Like Bismillah, there are hundreds of students who feel happy and hopeful for this reason.

An empty stomach has no ears! But with his hunger satisfied for the moment, Bismillah begins to express himself through art, play, reading, writing, etc. all of which are facilitated at JRS centre, a safe space for him. School has always been a distant reality for Bismillah, and it is at JRS centre that he experiences how childhood feels.

Despite the difficulties he faces, he cherishes a dream of becoming a teacher like the one at the centre who is his role model. He is delighted by the opportunity of learning and says, “I want to become like my teacher and build a school for those children who are like me. My school will provide them food as I know the struggle of going to bed hungry.”