Feature: A time for joy and laughter for Afghan children in battle-weary Afghanistan

In an embattled country like Afghanistan where the threat of violence is always present, it is heartening to hear the laughter of children and to see their happy faces once in a while.

This was what happened on Tuesday when Afghan children, mostly coming from poor communities, gathered in a school to enjoy a live circus performed by their peers. It was a day when children forgot their worries and laughed to their heart's content.

The performance was done by pupils of Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC), a non-governmental organization, as part of the graduation ceremonies of MMCC's winter course.

"I am very happy to perform in the circus to make other children like me laugh. I want to prove that we children have a sense of humor and we can laugh even at ourselves," Shoaib, a young circus performer, told Xinhua in an interview.

Shoaib, who at his young age has witnessed some of the tragic events that happened in his country, said he felt sad and was afraid of his future because of the frequent clashes between security forces and militants. It is always the children and civilians who are caught in the crossfire, he said.

"But after I joined the MMCC, my life changed. Now, I have self- confidence in myself and I can make other children enjoy their winter holidays," 11-year-old Shoaib said.

About a thousand children and parents attended the show held at the compound of the MMCC in western Kabul.

Sahra Hakimi, another MMCC pupil, said that she learned to perform in a circus three years ago, "I love to perform on stage and entertain people," she said.

"When I watched a circus for the first time, I thought I won't be able to perform but today I can do a lot of things on stage," Sahra said.

The pupils of MMCC, clad in colorful costumes and bubbling with energy, did acrobatics, jugged pink-colored wooden plates, and rode monocycles. Some were dressed and acted as clowns. The performance was accompanied by popular Afghan music and songs to the delight and enjoyment of the spectators.

The performance on the stage by dozens of teenagers that included young girls was met with loud applause and cheers from the audience. Some parents cried with joy upon seeing their children performed on stage.

"The ceremony marked the end of MMCC's winter training program for 500 street children and those that live in tents. The parents were very thankful to the MMCC for having a winter program for their children," Mohammad Hamid, a trainer of the group, told Xinhua.

The MMCC has been working in Afghanistan since early 2002. Its main objective is to provide basic education and informative entertainment to children of marginalized families. Its goal is to identify, train, and develop the potentials of poor but talented children.

According to Hamid, pupils at MMCC that include boys and girls are also taught how to use musical instruments and the arts aside from the regular subjects.

"We have five branches across Afghanistan. Our aim in holding the winter program is to bring happiness to children who come from very poor families especially the homeless who do not have access to regular schools," he said.

Nearly 3,700 civilians that include children were killed and more than 6,800 others were wounded in conflicts and Taliban-led attacks in 2014, according to a report released by the United Nations mission to the country in February.

About 714 Afghan children were killed and more than 1,700 were injured last year alone, according to the UN report.

The poor Afghan children are the most vulnerable segment in the conflict-ridden society. They are kidnapped by certain groups, exploited by unscrupulous individuals, sexually assaulted and even used as suicide bombers.

Afghan officials routinely blamed the Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for the deaths of civilians and children. But in some instances children and civilians were also killed during retaliatory operations of Afghan security forces against the insurgents.

There are some 12 million children in the country of which 10 million, nearly 40 percent of them girls, go to school, according to officials of the Afghan education ministry.

But around 1.7 million Afghan children still have no access to schools because of poverty, security problems, and restrictions due to tradition and religion. Endi