Faizullah was a 13-year-old orphan living in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.
Faizullah had a very good life and his father was rich. But everything changed when his father’s gambling addiction got the best of him. He lost everything and owed many people money. He was forced to leave his homeland to go to Iran but was killed in a car accident on his way.
Upon his father’s death, the weight of caring for the family of 7 fell on Faizullah’s shoulders. At the age of 13, he now was responsible for all the financial responsibilities of the family. It was his job to pay the bills, put food on the table, and make sure they had a place to live.
All this was too much for Faizullah, and he was forced to drop out of school in order to work. He began selling plastic bags on the street near the city plaza. Most days he wasn’t even able to make enough for a single loaf of bread.
When we found Faizullah, he was hopeless. He wanted to return to the 7th grade. He wanted to be a child again rather than carry his family’s burdens. Source of Compassion was able to make that happen. Through our child sponsorship program, we were able to provide his family with the resources they needed, so that Faizullah could go back to school and look forward to a brighter future.