Twelve-year-old Mirwais has been in the Kapisa orphanage for several years. His father was killed while fighting against the Taliban. A year later, his mother also died of an illness, which Mirwais called "yellow-eye disease", probably a form of hepatitis. This is how he described his family situation, "My father died in the war and my mother from illness. So, I'm fatherless and motherless".
After the death of Mirwais' mother, an uncle took him and his brother and sister in. His uncle was a day labourer and did not have the means to support them all. So, after a time, he took the two boys to the state orphanage in Kapisa. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the orphanage closed due to a lack of funds and all the children were sent back to their relatives. "Going back to my uncle's was terrible. The worst thing was the cold at night. The room was not heated. We had no wood stove and no blankets or warm clothes to wear. There was also often a lack of food. Some days there wasn't even any bread. Fortunately, the orphanage reopened and they took me back. Here we eat well three times a day every day. The rooms are heated in winter and there is a place where they treat us when we are sick. There is also a school. I'd never gone there before"..
Another reason Mirwais likes the orphanage is because he has clothes which are "good, not like the ones I had before". He likes being able to wash himself often, play football and be part of a team. He says, "It's nice to be with other boys like me. I've made a lot of friends here". Gli piace potersi lavare spesso, giocare a calcio e far parte di una squadra. “È bello stare con altri ragazzi come me, mi sono fatto tanti amici qui”.
Mirwais dreams of changing his future, of becoming a pilot or a doctor --- "something important". He thinks that if the orphanage closes or sends him away his dreams will vanish. "My uncle is not able to let my brother and I study. So, we won't be able to finish school. We'll have to work hard to help the family. Otherwise, we'll end up on the street. I hope to stay here as long as possible". “Mio zio non può far studiare me e mio fratello, quindi non riusciremo a finire la scuola, dovremo lavorare duramente per aiutare la famiglia, se no finiremo in mezzo alla strada. Spero di restare qui il più possibile”.