Afghan children repair roads

Asphalt roads in Afghanistan destroyed by explosions due to decades of conflict are being repaired by children.

Aged between 7-15, Afghan boys and girls fill pits created by mines and bombings with soil and gravel they collect from the roadside.

As their peers enjoy their childhood in other parts of the world, these children have to work from sunup to sundown in difficult conditions to contribute to the livelihood of their families.

Hundreds of Afghan children that work on the main road that stretches from the capital Kabul to Ghazni, Zabul, Kandahar, Helmand, Nimruz, Farah and Herat provinces request help from drivers whom they facilitate passage through their work.

While some drivers give money to the children, others share their food with them.

The children generally live in villages close to where they work. Some are orphans, while others have a disabled father or parents who are unemployed.

As almost none of them went to school at any point in their lives and some had to leave school to work, the children sometimes return home with no earnings or with earnings of up to 200 Afghanis (around $2).

According to London-based Save The Children, there are approximately 1 million child workers across Afghanistan