Khalid is a 7 year old boy. He has two brothers aged 15 and 7 and a sister aged 12. His mother is a housewife, his father a police officer. Khalid and his family had a prosperous and happy life, a normal life. Then a bomb hit the very street where Khalid's father was on patrol. The man died, and a different life began for his family.
“After my father's death everything became difficult, sometimes we didn't even have a piece of bread to eat. My mother is illiterate and couldn't find a job
We often had to go to bed without dinner. One night my little brother Hamid was turning yellow, crying and screaming that he was hungry. To calm him down, my mother lied by saying that she would cook delicious food the next day.
After several months my uncle Javeed took us to his house. He fed us but with his daily work he earned little and had no prospects. So they decided to enroll me in the public orphanage in Kapisa.
When I entered the orphanage I had no friends and had never been separated from my family for a single night. I was afraid.
But the teachers were kind, encouraged me and reassured me that I would be happy here. As time went by I found a friend, I started playing volleyball and football, I started to feel more at home. Now I'm happy here, I have access to nutritious food and I can go to school. Every now and then there are more difficult days, in which I worry about my future and my family, but now in these moments I know I can count on the support of my classmates, who are always ready to listen to me and reassure me
Even if Khalid has found his balance inside the orphanage, serenity is unfortunately still far away. He has a serious hernia and, although he has had some treatment, the family does not have enough money to give him access to quality care and medications.
In the meantime Khalid's uncle fell ill with cancer.
10 days ago he came to the orphanage and dedicated a prayer to me. Then he kissed me on the forehead and cried. He told me that maybe that would be our last meeting. My uncle died 5 days ago. We have lost another breadwinner.
Today the orphanage is Khalid's only hope for the future.