A day in the life of Rameen

« It’s true, I am a child and I work on the street, but I have a lot of ambitions », assures Rameen aged of 11 years and raised in a family of 8 people, including three brothers and two little sisters. A few months ago, the oldest brother of the siblings died after a car accident during his work. This tragic event was an enormous shock for his family, made up by this hard reality.

Rameen and his two brothers found themselves obliged to work hardly to help their family, since their father, aged of 65 years old, is affected by health problems.« My sisters are too young to think about work. However, my little brother aged of 7 years old, started working at the livestock. » explains Rameen. The father is not able to work a lot but he tries to keep himself active and he continues to work by selling some plastic tools to feed his family. They have no other choice than to work but they still find the motivation to give love and care for each one of them  « The most import thing in my life is my family, as long as I have the ability to, I will help them. »

Rameen starts his day early, he wakes up at 6 o’clock in the morning and goes to work, near his home, to wash some cars on the street. When there are no car to wash, he works by bringing water to people. At 11 o’clock, he takes classes at school not far from his workplace. The school takes in charge the students and offers them breakfast and lunch. For some of them, it will be the only meal of the day. After the lessons, Rameen goes back to work until the night. « When I finish my work, I buy something for my home with the money I have collected », relates Rameen.

At the heart of this old and tiny house, every evening, the whole family is reunited to eat dinner together. On their menu, there are beans or boiling potatoes. With no television at home, they enjoy the evening telling the stories of every member’s day to conclude the journey. « We live in an old house where every corner of the two unique rooms is a place to sleep in. Without any water access, we don’t have a proper kitchen, so my mom cooks in the hallway » describes Rameen.

The family is surrounded by the neighborhood who share the same difficulties of their hard reality while appreciating the simple joys of life. « There are many neighbors around my house and their sons are my friends. I go to work all days but during days off like Friday, I play football with them next to my house » adds Rameen.

AfD’s project aims to empower street working children by providing them an education and building their self-esteem. « The biggest fear of my life is to lose my family and my biggest ambition is to become a doctor » concludes Rameen.

Support the street working children and be a part of the breakthrough and make someone’s dream come true : https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/street-children-back-to-school/

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