Where the war-torn Afghanistan suffers from myriad of security, social, and economic challenges, the country’s children are also paying the price. Many of them are left to beg on the streets in order to make the ends meet for themselves and their families. Recently, in mid November, a young Afghan girl named Banafsha (literally meaning violet) was saved from begging on the dangerous streets of Kabul by the Child Foundation, an international charity foundation based in Portland (Oregon), USA. Banafsha was accepted into the sponsorship program of the Child Foundation after the CNN reported the news story of her misery on 14th November, 2008.
The case of the 11-year-old Banafsha, the daughter of a drug addict father and the eldest of six children, reveals the importance of media coverage of social issues that practically provide solutions and immediate help to children and other victims of poverty in places where they live in neglect and misery. International charity foundations, like the Child Foundation, are funded by the general public but they are not able to automatically detect cases where help is needed. However, these foundations are open to helping reported cases of victims like Banafsha who was accepted into their sponsorship program after the foundation confirmed the truth of her case as that of a needy child.
Banafsha can now go to school as the Child Foundation has started to take care of the basic family needs, freeing the young girl of the compulsion to beg for bread. Banafsha wants to become a teacher and educate other children. Certainly, the CNN is to be credited for saving Banafsha and her family as well as the Child Foundation. What is needed is a network of local reporters/citizen journalists to report stories of families and children who are suffering from problems like poverty, disease, and other life challenges. Telling a story can save a life and there are many stories all around us. So let us put out writing talent to save children like Banafsha from further victimization.
