The OSAA organization held the 3rd Inter-Community Dialogue on the Child Protection Structures’ experience Sharing in Herat province on Wednesday, May 24, 2022. The dialogue was held with the participation of Ms. Fareshta Yaqoubi, OSAA Managing Director, Mr. Sayed Ahmad Basim Gailani, HELP Germany INGO deputy director, Mr. Rahmani, RSDO director, Mr. Hafiz Abu Mansoor DoLSA director and technical teams, DoEC technical staff, INGO and NNGO representatives, community elders, Arbabs, religious leaders, and university professors from Herat city and districts.
Mr. Wais Ahmad Hikmat, OSAA Program Manager, while welcoming the guests, provided information about the activities of the current TVET project and stated that the purpose of this meeting was to identify the needs and provide solutions for the protection of vulnerable children in Herat province. He expressed his gratitude for the financial and technical support of UNICEF and Help Germany organizations in the implementation of educational and TVET projects to support the most vulnerable children.
Subsequently, Mr. Gailani, the deputy director of the Help Germany INGO, provided information about the TVET project and the organizations involved in such projects and pointed out that so far, around 10,000 people have benefited from these projects, and it is planned that in the near future, more than 3,000 people will benefit from this program. He added that another project for children under the name of supporting children in emergencies” has been undertaken to achieve goals such as raising awareness about the dangers of landmines, treating sick children, and providing cash assistance for them.
Then, Mr. Hafiz Mirza Mohammad Abu Mansour, the director of labor and social affairs of Herat province, while expressing his gratitude to the OSAA organization, announced that DoLSA and all the de facto departments welcomed the implementation of such projects and cooperated in the implementation of such programs. In the following, he provided useful information about the functions and achievements of the Department of Labor and Social Affairs to support children and asked community members and people to support vulnerable children without hesitation. He pointed out that supporting children is not the duty of only the DoLSA and NGOs, but the duty of all sections of society, and everyone should contribute to improving the lives of children.
Subsequently, the dialogue participants expressed their ideas and views in the framework of open discussion to improve the situation of vulnerable children and emphasized the implementation of strategies to protect children and support them against possible harm.
In the end, Mr. Abdul Sattar Zarifi, head of social affairs of Herat DOLSA, summed up the program, while thanking for the creation of supportive programs for vulnerable children in the western region and considering the balanced development in all urban and remote areas by UNICEF, Help Germany and OSAA organizations and the financial support of the European Union from such initiatives. He added that In order to realize a desirable society for vulnerable children, the constructive opinions of the people and their supporters are effective.