1. ENFANTS DU MONDE – DROITS DE L’HOMME
Since 1986, Enfants du monde - Droits de l’Homme (Children of the world - human rights) has been working to ensure recognition of the child as a person benefiting from specific rights in the same way as an adult does. 

Based on the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, EMDH action aims at bringing the existence of this Convention to public attention, and to advocate for its recognition and application. EMDH missions bring assistance to the most deprived children and families. 

EMDH runs programs in Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Colombia, Madagascar, and Vietnam. Palestine, Algeria,  Sri Lanka, Yemen, Myanmar,  

Approved by the French Ministry for Young People and Sports, member of the French Council for the Rights of the Child, EMDH has been granted by a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. 

In Afghanistan, EMDH is registered since 2002 to the Ministry of Planning under the number 124 and to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) under the number 228/147. Moreover, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with MolSA in July 2004 as recognition of the action work of EMDH towards the children of Deh Qabel,


2. PROJECTS IN AFGHANISTAN
EMDH settled its mission in Afghanistan in February 2002. Its attention drawn by the very large proportion of refugees in Kabul, EMDH decided to focus on these population groups. In the South-west of Kabul, district 6, the Hazara community, dramatically deprived by the civil war in Kabul, resettled destroyed areas. EMDH opened a day care center in the middle of the area, in Deh Qabel, to take care of the most vulnerable children and train young adults to social work and children related activities. EMDH’s day care centre activities are integrated in the EC/ CRC project.

Target group :
Nearly 300 children, girls and boys from 4 to 12 years old, are registered in the centre.

Educational and play activities:
Sports activities: In order to improve social abilities as much as physical ones.

Leisure activities: outside and inside games, toys, video program, days out. These activities are crucial for a child to grow up and excellent tools for informal education.

The 3 R’s: literacy and numeracy classes and English courses for the oldest children. Learning how to read and write allows catching up to level allowing attendance to a formal school.

Creative activities: painting, drawing, dancing. While having fun children express themselves and develop creativity and imagination, greatly increasing self-confidence. 

Health education: Hygiene in the form of washing and cleaning teeth. Soap, clean towels and water are permanently available. Tooth brushing is a daily activity run by each youth worker.

Psychological support:
Youth workers are appointed to observe specific children during the activities. They can then easily start recognizing problems within their group of children, and start a program of dealing with those problems. It is a critical point for the youth worker to try to identify a child with problems and then try to help them. This is the “reference system”: discussion with the psychologist and social workers, case studies, diagnosis and therapy. The workers have procedures designed specifically to help with the problems of children from these areas.

Social work:
As a direct community activity, social workers are the link between the Centre and the families. They collect information about background, encourage families to use available medical care, give advice on hygiene, find reasons for absences and even walk unwell children back home.  Individual follow-up of one child and family allows a close monitoring of school attendance aiming at reducing drop outs and at influencing their causes.

Trainings:
The program includes a culturally sensitive psycho-pedagogical and social training for the staff. Its tools have been developed by intercultural psychologists along the 2 years continuous training conducted in the center on a weekly basis.

Community and Institutions:
Families and community representatives are involved in the program. Drop-in meetings for women take place at the Centre, providing information on health education, hygiene and nutrition, and encourage the registration of their children at school. Waqils come regularly to the Centre to refer cases for instance. They are all invited to the children performances, with other community representatives, like the school directors. The system is now well established and recognized in the neighborhood.

Contacts with government institutions are frequent, as good, productive collaboration with them is an important element in the endurance of the program, and wider promotion of the children rights.


Contacts:
EMDH Headquarters :
5, rue des Haudriettes 75003 PARIS- France
Phone : +33 1 42 72 71 78
E-mail : courrier@emdh.org, international@emdh.org 

EMDH Afghanistan Country Office :
Karte Marmoorin Street 1 House 60 Kabul District 5
Phone : 070 293 395 / 079 300 750
E-mail : kabul@emdh.org 
Visit our Web site : www.emdh.org