A photo exhibition reflecting the challenges faced by street children in Afghanistan was held in Babur Garden in Kabul on Thursday.

The exhibition, organized by Save the Children organization, had a message to Afghan government: to help them have access to a better life. 

“The photo exhibition of street children is aimed at providing awareness about the plight of children working on the streets,” said Maryam Attayee, spokesperson of Save the Children.
 

Sarah, 11, a resident of Kabul, says she works the city streets. 

After completing a short term course on photography, Sarah started her career and managed to take dozens of photos showing the miserable lives of street children in the country. 

“In our photography, we should focus on the children working on streets, because they are facing with numerous problems,” Sarah said. 

Five photos taken by Sarah were displayed in the exhibition, including a number of paintings from Ghulam Mohammad Maimanagi’s Art Academy. 

“In my paintings, I tried to sketch the poverty facing the street children,” said Abdul Mansour, an artist. 

In total, 40 photos have been displayed in the exhibition. 

Statistics show that thousands of children roam the dusty streets and grimy alleyways of Afghan major cities working to earn needed money for their families to survive from poverty. 

Reports also indicate that poverty and security threats are forcing an increasing number of Afghan children to work and beg on streets. 

Rights groups say there are huge risks to children living on the streets. They have an unstable childhood, face physical and sexual abuse by adults, harassment of law enforcement agencies and have no access to education or health care facilities, the children’s rights groups said.