Without SCA’s support, Nargis has lost hope

Nargis, 14, has a hearing impairment. Her father, Mohammad Hussain, suffers from paraplegia, and his legs are paralysed. Both of them used to receive support from the Swedish Committee of Afghanistan (SCA), but since the suspension of SCA’s activities in July 2023, they haven’t received any further assistance. Now they are worried about their future.

“I want to become a doctor in the future, but if SCA can’t start helping again, I won’t be able to make my dream come true. Whenever I think about the days when my teacher was teaching me, it makes me feel so upset that I want to cry,” Nargis says, using sign language.

Because of her hearing impairment, Nargis didn’t have access to education until she was 12 years old. Then SCA provided her with a teacher who came to the family’s house to teach her how to read, write and use sign language. 

“I couldn’t communicate with other people, and it made me very sad. I stayed at home all the time, feeling depressed. But then my teacher taught me sign language,” she says.

Mohammad Hussain could clearly see how home schooling changed his daughter’s life.

“We could see a spark of happiness in Nargis’s eyes,” he says.

The family live in Charkent district of Balkh province, a rural area with limited opportunities to find work. SCA provided vocational training for people with disabilities to assist them to get a stable income and be financially self-sufficient. Mohammad Hussain attended vocational training to learn tailoring.

“SCA was my only hope to learn tailoring and have my own shop to support my family’s living expenses,” Mohammad Hussain says.

“We kindly request the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to allow SCA to resume its operations. This way, I can go back to my tailoring training and Nargis can continue her studies. There are many people with disabilities who urgently need the assistance that SCA provided in the past,” he added.

Every year, thousands of people including children benefited from SCA’s services in the northern provinces. SCA offers preparatory education for children with disabilities, either at education centers or in their homes. The aim is to prepare them for enrollment in regular schools.

In 2022, around 1,200 children, including 500 girls, received special education by support of SCA. Due to the suspension of SCA’s activities in 2023, thousands of vulnerable children were left without aid.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ordered the suspension of all activities related to Sweden in Afghanistan following the burning of copies of the Holy Quran in Sweden. SCA in an independent organisation with no links to the Swedish government and has strongly condemned and distanced itself from these acts. SCA has suspended all its activities in response to the decree.