24 May 2009 - A UN programme is reaching out to isolated areas of Afghanistan to encourage young people to study and then to seek employment.

The UN-HABITAT Youth Empowerment Project encourages students through a variety of courses such as English and computer classes.

One example is the story of 22 year old Mohammad Sharif in Jalalabad who was struggling to pass his exams for an internship at the medical faculty at Nangarhar University. Tragically the sudden death of his father in a suicide bombing put all his plans and dreams on hold.

“After graduation from school, I spent more than seven months to prepare for the university entrance exam by studying different subjects at home and undergoing courses of physics and mathematics to find a way to the medical faculty. But two to three days before the exam, my father suddenly lost his life in a suicide attack and I was not able to participate in the exam,” said Sharif. “During the preparation period for my exam, I had no time to go to a barber shop or to shave my beard, I even lost weight.”

Sharif’s mother noticed the effect: “After the death of his father my son Sharif was very disappointed and was not speaking and walking. He became a recluse.”

The family’s fortunes took a turn for the better when two UN-HABITAT staff came to their village to encourage boys and girls to join the Youth Empowerment Programme.

“An a gathering of youth in Toupkhana village, when we were explaining the Youth Empowerment Programme to the people, we saw a boy – Sharif – who was looking very disappointed, very quiet and very shy. But he was also listening to us carefully,” said Mr Ehsanullah Shayan, the UN-HABITAT Youth Empowerment Project Supervisor in Nangarhar province.

Sharif successfully underwent all English and computer courses and after some weeks, successfully passed a written test and an interview for a job vacancy as a Youth Affairs Assistant with an NGO.

According to HABITAT’s Mr Shayan, a total of 20 Youth Councils – ten in Jalalabad city and ten in the Bihsood district of Nanagarhar province – have been established, with a total of 420 members – 210 boys and 210 girls. They’ve been trained in different fields such as “Youth and Government”, “Youth Development Plan”, “Fund Raising”, “Project Design” and “Project Management”.

The youth trained by UN-HABITAT in Nangarhar province, usually take an active part in voluntary works and the celebration of national and international days such as Youth Day, Peace Day, Women’s Day, Human Rights Day and others.

By Shafiqullah Waak, UNAMA

Website: UN HABITAT Afghanistan