A Long Drive for a Long Hope

Ummah Welfare Trust UK in Afghanistan

Alhamdulillah, Allah gave us the opportunity to undertake a long, but worthy, drive to Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost.

This rugged province shares a border with Pakistan’s Waziristan region. And like it, has suffered heavily over the years from air and drone strikes.

Khost has been the subject of many newspaper articles because of the violence, killings and oppression that have taken place here.

As we drove through its dusty bazaars, the impacts were clear to see. Begging widows and injured civilians were visible wherever we turned. Their torn dishevelled clothes gave a clear glimpse into their poverty.

Our trip was to visit a makeshift orphanage in the centre of Khost, housing over 500 orphaned children. The father of every child here had been killed in the war.

Some children here were as young as four, losing their fathers at a very tender age. Some, even before they were born.

So young, yet compelled to understand the brutality of this world so early.

The orphanage was hopefully a path to a happier future for these children. But it had its shortcomings. Classrooms were too small, toilets too less, and the waterworks were faulty.

This was no fault of any one person. Despite the best intentions of teachers and ulama, underfunding is endemic across Afghanistan’s schooling sector.

Children at this particular orphanage came from as many as 12 provinces. The lack of support is so prevalent for vulnerable children like these, that many are compelled to travel hundreds of miles for a free education.

Alhamdulillah, this is where sincere Muslims can play role. Ummah Welfare Trust, may Allah make it sincere, needs help to build a new, and much larger, complex for these deserving children.

The new orphanage, around 20 minutes away from the current one, will be capable of housing over 1,000 children, ensuring each one has ample facilities to learn, play and, inshaAllah, grow into a righteous Muslim.

To learn more about, and donate for, this unique project, visit uwt.org/projects/afghanistan-orphanage.