Halima (illustrated in photos ) is a 14-year-old girl displaced from Rabat Sangi District who has benefited from the multi-sectoral services of the CPiE Project. She tells her life story as follows:
“I am the second child of a family of seven members. My father who was a military man was martyred in a mine explosion in 2020. My fathers’ pass out was our second grief as my older sister had also died three years ago due to bone cancer. We were suffering severe poverty and misery from conflicts in our village. Hence, we had no choice left except to move to Herat City and reside in the 8th district. The loss of my father, and sister, poverty, and poor nutrition caused me severe depression, which left me isolated from my peers and affected my education and social relationships.”
She added “One day I heard of a team who had come to our area to assist children affected by armed conflicts. I also could have the chance to meet them. They gave me a form after a conversation about my physical and mental disorders, and a week later they reached me via my mother’s cell phone and talked to me about my problems. I turned to become more acquainted with the team. I learned that the team represented an organization named Help. A few days later, I was able to have a face-to-face meeting with one of the team members entitled case manager/counselor, during which I received some effective exercises and pieces of advice. Next week, I received a call again and was provided with new exercises and advice. I was getting better day by day until the team referred me to the Afghan Aria Hospital for medical treatment. After an in-depth checkup, the decision was made to operate my faucial tonsil. Help’s humanitarian aid workers/staff reimbursed all the procedures of my operations including check-ups, examinations, medicines, and hospitalization until I was finely discharged. They even accompanied us to our house after I was discharged from the hospital. The next day they came to our house to find out about my health and found me fine. Now, I do feel very well that my tonsil was successfully operated and I am in a good health condition. While in the meantime, my mental problems are also reduced and my mind has improved tremendously for which I am profoundly thankful to UNICEF and Help organizations. I promise to follow the advice of Help’s case management team in the future and I’d like to recommend the continuation of such kind of humanitarian services to the children who require mental health support services and/or suffer from numerous diseases.”