Letter to the Deputy Minister
April 26, 2007
Your Excellency Deputy Minister,
It is with great pleasure that we recognize the outstanding work that this ministry and the members of Child Protection Action Network have accomplished over the last couple of years, culminating in the document “National Strategy for Children “at-risk”. The challenges of creating a social safety net are difficult in all cultures, and especially difficult in post-war Afghanistan. We are gratified to recognize all involved with creating this document as the formulation of strategy and policy are so imperative to a successful social program and it gives us a starting point for the report we are submitting to you.
It is with confidence in this ministry’s desire to improve the life of the children under its care that I bring the attached report to your attention. PARSA staff has spent the last eight months in the Alluhoddin Orphanage, implementing a pilot program for children who have been identified by the orphanage staff as especially “at risk”. Our staff members are trained caregiver’s in physiotherapy and psychosocial training. Over the course of the last eight months they witnessed first hand problems at the orphanage that deeply concerned them. We have taken steps to bring these problems to your attention and to the attention of individuals within your organization to have them rectified. However it has only been in the last six weeks with the direct intervention from Vice President Khalily that significant improvement has been seen at the orphanage. Input from other organizations who have direct experience of Alluhoddin and other orphanages indicate that in fact over the course of the last five years, intervention in substandard conditions for the children has taken place but not been sustained by orphanage staff. This indicates that there is a need for a comprehensive investigation of existing orphanages and that changes need to be made at many different levels of the system of management, oversight and monitoring. Change that is only made after intervention from the president’s office will not be sustained.
We submit the following reports documenting the conditions at the orphanage in an effort to initiate an investigation of the conditions of the orphanages in Afghanistan and the management systems in place. We do this not to create problems but to assist in the clarification of the problems so that you and your staff can take effective action. We do not consider this a poor reflection on this ministry. All countries struggle to care for their most vulnerable people appropriately. These conditions are understandable in the current struggle to develop Afghanistan. What is not tolerable is to know about these conditions and to not investigate and address the issues so that the children under your care have the quality of life they are entitled to. We have confidence that you and this network will do so expeditiously.
Our report is not designed to initiate direct change. It is a simple account of problems my staff witnessed. It would be unfair to all involved to take systemic action on this report alone. The staff at the orphanage has worked there through the wars, often without pay. The orphanage staff needs to be protected from untrue and malicious accusations as much as the children need to have a voice and reports such as this need to be taken seriously and given due process. However, we need a venue for NGO’s, donors, parents, children and staff to bring their concerns and issues that they have with the proper care of the children, to ask those accountable for intervention and improvement. Having such a venue will create great confidence in this ministry and create support for its programs. We are bringing my report to this group of invested people in hopes that the issues we raise will be investigated and changes will be made at all levels of this ministry so that these conditions are not tolerated and that these children are given the best possible chance for a good life.
On behalf of PARSA staff
Marnie Gustavson Mahbouba Seraj
Executive Director Community Education and Advocacy
Your Excellency Deputy Minister,
It is with great pleasure that we recognize the outstanding work that this ministry and the members of Child Protection Action Network have accomplished over the last couple of years, culminating in the document “National Strategy for Children “at-risk”. The challenges of creating a social safety net are difficult in all cultures, and especially difficult in post-war Afghanistan. We are gratified to recognize all involved with creating this document as the formulation of strategy and policy are so imperative to a successful social program and it gives us a starting point for the report we are submitting to you.
It is with confidence in this ministry’s desire to improve the life of the children under its care that I bring the attached report to your attention. PARSA staff has spent the last eight months in the Alluhoddin Orphanage, implementing a pilot program for children who have been identified by the orphanage staff as especially “at risk”. Our staff members are trained caregiver’s in physiotherapy and psychosocial training. Over the course of the last eight months they witnessed first hand problems at the orphanage that deeply concerned them. We have taken steps to bring these problems to your attention and to the attention of individuals within your organization to have them rectified. However it has only been in the last six weeks with the direct intervention from Vice President Khalily that significant improvement has been seen at the orphanage. Input from other organizations who have direct experience of Alluhoddin and other orphanages indicate that in fact over the course of the last five years, intervention in substandard conditions for the children has taken place but not been sustained by orphanage staff. This indicates that there is a need for a comprehensive investigation of existing orphanages and that changes need to be made at many different levels of the system of management, oversight and monitoring. Change that is only made after intervention from the president’s office will not be sustained.
We submit the following reports documenting the conditions at the orphanage in an effort to initiate an investigation of the conditions of the orphanages in Afghanistan and the management systems in place. We do this not to create problems but to assist in the clarification of the problems so that you and your staff can take effective action. We do not consider this a poor reflection on this ministry. All countries struggle to care for their most vulnerable people appropriately. These conditions are understandable in the current struggle to develop Afghanistan. What is not tolerable is to know about these conditions and to not investigate and address the issues so that the children under your care have the quality of life they are entitled to. We have confidence that you and this network will do so expeditiously.
Our report is not designed to initiate direct change. It is a simple account of problems my staff witnessed. It would be unfair to all involved to take systemic action on this report alone. The staff at the orphanage has worked there through the wars, often without pay. The orphanage staff needs to be protected from untrue and malicious accusations as much as the children need to have a voice and reports such as this need to be taken seriously and given due process. However, we need a venue for NGO’s, donors, parents, children and staff to bring their concerns and issues that they have with the proper care of the children, to ask those accountable for intervention and improvement. Having such a venue will create great confidence in this ministry and create support for its programs. We are bringing my report to this group of invested people in hopes that the issues we raise will be investigated and changes will be made at all levels of this ministry so that these conditions are not tolerated and that these children are given the best possible chance for a good life.
On behalf of PARSA staff
Marnie Gustavson Mahbouba Seraj
Executive Director Community Education and Advocacy
posted by Marnie Gustavson at
9:56 AM
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