Working with UNICEF, IOM is launching a programme to provide
much-needed reintegration assistance to 700 former child soldiers
and young people who have been affected by war in the western
Afghanistan provinces of Ghor and Badghis.

The UNICEF and Italian funded programme will help children go
back to school or join vocational training schemes. It will also
seek to promote community support for the children by encouraging
the participation of immediate family members, community leaders,
and Mullahs.

Support activities will include self-awareness and
self-confidence development through literacy, communication and
numeric skill teaching. In addition, IOM and UNICEF will provide
psychosocial support through creative workshops, team sport
activities, and personal/interpersonal awareness exercises.

A total of six training centres will be set-up by IOM in the
provinces of Ghor and Badghis to provide the children with
reintegration assistance and to train local community workers.

UNICEF estimates that there are a total of 8,000 former underage
soldiers in Afghanistan, many of whom have already left the
fighting forces informally over the past years. In addition, there
are thousands of unassisted war-affected youth who have missed out
on many years of education.

For further information, please call:

Rahilla Zafar

IOM Kabul

Tel +93 070066036

Email: "mailto:rzafar@iomkabul.net" target="_blank" title=
"">rzafar@iomkabul.net