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<p name="41e7">Omid lives in Kabul and he’s 13. He’s been working on the streets of Kabul since he was five. Omid’s father died when Omid was just five years old and as the oldest boy, Omid had to start working to provide for his family. He never went to school.</p>

<p name="2689">One day when Omid was working he saw an advert in the city. He couldn’t read it because he’d never been to school and no one in his family could read or write so he had never learned. He asked an old man who was nearby what the advert said. He explained to Omid that it was about getting a good education. But that wasn’t possible for Omid so he didn’t think about it again.</p>

<p name="6d51">One day the Community Educator from Skateistan visited the community where Omid’s family lives. Skateistan Community Educators are responsible for encouraging children to attend Skateistan and for helping families to see the benefits of our programs. Omid was out working that day so he didn’t see the Community Educator, but she visited his mother. She told Omid’s mother that Omid could attend Skateistan and access free education classes as well as enjoying skateboarding and making friends his own age. His mother thought it would be too late for Omid as he had missed so much school but the Community Educator told her about the Back-to-School program and how it could help Omid to catch up. Back-to-School is an accelerated learning program for children who are out of school. They come to Skateistan five days per week and cover three grades in one year.</p>

<p name="fdcb">When Omid came back home after hard day’s work, his mother told him about Skateistan and his chance to get an education. Omid remembered the old man telling him about the advert he had seen years before. He decided at that point that he would join Skateistan’s programs so that he could eventually become a teacher and help poor children like himself.</p>
