Sher Ahmad Haider
GHAZNI CITY: Food shortage and cold weather compelled over 100 children to run away from Ghazni province orphanage, a report claimed on Sunday.
A joint report of Public Health, Information and Culture and Justice Departments of the province said now only 45 of the 157 children remained in the centre.
UNICEF, Jan.22, 2008: About 600 children under five die every day in Afghanistan due to pneumonia, poor nutrition, diarrhoea and other preventable diseases...
The children did not have warm clothes in this cold weather and even do not have shelter in the centre, report added
Every year more than 2m afghanis being granted to the orphanage but not more than 150,000 afghanis are being spent, report claimed
Presently at least 50 children including minor girls are living in two different rooms of the centre.
Public Health Director Dr. Zia Gul Aspandi urged the officials for immediate support with the children.
A boy, Mustafa living in the centre said:" I came for learning something but now here is nothing which I want to learn."
A destitute 10-year girl Arzu informed condition of the centre as compared with past is very worst and due to cold weather and insufficient food stuff children flee.
However, Ghazni Social Welfare Department (SWD) official termed the report one sided and claimed it is not reality.
Shafiqa Joshan, director of SWD blamed that those Ghazni officials are trying to pressurize them.
She added they have provided all those facilities what they had in centre for children, added for monitoring the duties there is another department.
Most of the children are living nearby the centre and now they have gone to their house due to winter vacation, but only those children can reside in the centre who are from remote areas or do not have homes, she concluded.