Courtesy UK Ministry of Defence
British forces based at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) have started running a school for the sons and nephews of the traders of the Saturday bazaar held at the base.
The school provides the local children with formal lessons and sports activities while their parents are trading.
Members of all three British Services stationed at the base take time out to teach the boys in arts and crafts and maths and English before their formal lessons begin with the Afghan teacher, Mr Abdul Raziq.
Every Saturday sees a stream of local traders coming through the main gate of Kandahar Airfield to set up a bazaar selling a wide range of goods to almost 20,000 personnel from the 42 nations serving at the sprawling ISAF base.
Many of the traders bring their sons and nephews, and a Dutch Warrant Officer, browsing the stalls around 18 months ago, noticed that the youngsters didn't have a lot to occupy their time. 
He hit upon the idea of setting up a school in an area to one side of the stalls where the children could have formal lessons and a little bit of fun.
School volunteer Andy Carnegie commented:
"The KAF Bazaar School is an opportunity for the military population in KAF to interact with local nationals.
"The school is a Saturday morning activity school ... It gives the chance for the soldiers to interact with local nationals and for the boys to interact with the military."
Teacher Abdul Raziq said:
"We have 45 students who are separated into three crews - the seniors, juniors and the brand new ones. "First of all I teach them Pashtu. It is really important for them to learn Pashtu.
"Then they learn the ABC, which they can study through English books, and study the English language. They are doing homework, learning and writing the ABCs."
Video: ISAF Forces Teach Children in Kandahar
This article was first published on UK Ministry of Defence's website.
Related Sites:
UK Defence News - Afghanistan
Official Blog for UK Military Operations in Afghanistan