A day at hope house

A House of Hope

Hello my name is Soahalla

My father and older brother were shot dead one night by some villagers who entered our house. A few years later my mother also died of malaria. My brother Esmatullah and I stayed with my uncle but he mistreated us and when we heard about Hope House we came there and they took us in. This is me when I arrived. I feel like a different person now that I am at Hope House. I am very happy.

Who are the children at Hope House?

Most of the children at Hope House come from very bad circumstances. Afghanistan has suffered from many wars and most of the people are still suffering from grief and poverty. Some children were rescued from a refugee tent city. Others come from the streets. Some have been injured by land mines. Many have had to work full time instead of going to school.

This is Hope House The children of Hope House welcome you.

Mahboba's brother, Sidiq runs Hope House and is like a father to us.
Mahboba, the founder of Mahboba's Promise, comes to visit us every year. She brings joy to all the orphans.

Hope House garden

Hope House has a beautiful garden. We are very proud of our beautiful garden. The surrounding area is dry and barren but inside our walls there are flowers and trees and vegetables.

We grow a lot of our own food. Sidiq is picking vegetables in the garden.

Some girls are planting a special tree. Everyone who comes to Hope House plants a tree, which is an important symbol for us.

The garden looks so amazing covered in snow in winter!

A typical day

After morning prayers, it's breakfast time. Then we’re off to school. We study at a community school. We study hard so that one day we can support ourselves and our families with good jobs and so that we can become good leaders in our country.

We return to Hope House and say our prayers before lunch. On nice days we go outside and then we cook and eat outside too!

After lunch we do extra learning activities, like computers.

We love doing art and music.

We practise Taekwondo every day and we’ve won prizes in the local championships. At the Beijing Olympics Afghanistan won its first ever medal: for taekwondo!

On special occasions we go on outings and picnics.

Sometimes we just play with our friends. We have all lost close family members so we look out for each other and are very close.

This is homework time

Before the prayers at sundown we wash. Then we say our prayers. Dinner is delicious…And I love a bedtime story.

Goodnight.

With the help of people like you, Mahboba can keep helping people like us. We are so grateful for the love and support we get from Australia.