PARSA Job Corps
Vocational training for youth
PARSA Job Corps is a vocational training program for youth to experience training as well as on-the-job work as they decide on an economic track for their futures. The Job Corps was inspired by one of our young Scouts, Mohammad, who lost his life on the immigration route to Europe where he was going in the hope of finding work so he could support his widowed mother and siblings.The news of Mohammad’s death was heartbreaking to the entire PARSA staff and Mohammad’s troop in particular, because his life had touched many. PARSA directors met to decide how we could learn from Mohammed’s passing and respond as an organization. The result was the development of “Mohammad’s Program” which we call PARSA Job Corps.
As beneficial as our Scouts program is for participating youth, we felt that there was something more that we could provide to those involved with the program, especially to the many from impoverished families or those led by women with limited support. In 2015 our staff were under a lot of pressure to help individual children in our Scouts program who were begging for work because their families were out of food and at risk of starvation. Mohammad died on a dangerous journey leaving his country, education and Scouting program in order to find work and support his family. No one should have to make that decision. We decided to start a program for youth who must earn money to feed their family that would allow them to go to school and participate in Scouts while being mentored and earning a stipend to support their families.
In Afghanistan, traditionally, all family members contribute to the economics of the family. In the provinces this necessity often prevents children from going to school and finding a future that could improve their families’ economic status above basic subsistence level. In Kabul as well, children are often sent into the streets to sell small items, shine shoes, and to beg on the streets, which is extremely dangerous. Even those who do complete their education are facing a 49 percent unemployment rate. Our goal with this program is to make sure even our most disadvantaged Scouts are able to remain in the program while supporting their families, getting an education and learning practical skills that will give them a solid chance at gaining employment when they are of age. In short, this program was started to prevent other families from having to face the choice Mohammad’s family did.
Boys Job Corps
All of our boys are in school and participate in the Afghan Scout program but often economic realities for Afghan families require that they also work to bring in income to pay for food. They often do this by working hard labor, begging on the street and through other risky activities. By participating in PARSA Job Corps, our youth have an opportunity to train in various vocational skills that result in either work or the opportunity to start a small business.
In teams of 8, each group decides on what training they would like to receive and after the training how they can utilize the training to earn a living. For our younger Scouts in PARSA Job Corps they learn to earn for their Scout uniforms and community service projects. PARSA Job Corps #1 has had a preliminary training in small engine repair and now they are learning cell phone repair. They are building a small workshop with the help of adult volunteers and will soon begin working with their trainers on actually repairing engines and cell phones. They have decided as a team to find or buy small engines, repair them and resell them to fund their community service projects. PARSA staff will work with them to learn how to run a business in the process.
Girls Job Corps
On-the-job training in work skills is an opportunity that most girls do not have because of cultural constraints. Girls in Afghanistan can finish high school or college but not know how to apply their technical skills in a work setting. In PARSA Job Corps #3, girls are learning a variety of skills but most importantly they are learning how to work comfortably in a public setting. Being on time, service skills, initiating work tasks, and attention to detail are all skills they are being mentored in as they work on Fridays at the PARSA Friday Brunch. They will be learning cooking, hospitality, computer skills, and administrative skills as their interest develops, but most important they are gaining confidence in a work setting. Girls participating in the PARSA Job Corps begin to envision a future beyond early marriage, and families often will start to support a career for their daughters rather than relegating them to a life where marrying young is their only option.
Child labor is a stark reality in Afghanistan and more extensive than we know given the 40% unemployment rate. In this program we work to give our youth training and work experience and in the neediest cases youth under the age of 18 can receive a small stipend for participating in the program to prevent the family from sending the youth into riskier work. After age 18, our youth qualify for supervised odd jobs to earn money to support their families while in school or vocational training. Often these jobs will turn into permanent positions. PARSA adheres to the child labor laws of Afghanistan, while also paying attention to realities that Afghan families and youth face.
Job Corps Stories