In the wake of an announcement by Pakistan that it intends to start Phase Two of deportations of Afghans, Save the Children said Thursday that almost a quarter of a million Afghan children need proper homes, food, and access to education after returning from Pakistan in the past seven months.

In a statement issued by the organization, Save the Children said more than 520,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September last year, after Pakistan said all undocumented foreigners must leave the country voluntarily or face deportation.

Nearly half of all the returnees are children.

A survey by Save the Children of families who have returned to Afghanistan – and the communities who are hosting them – found that nearly all (99%) do not have enough food for the next one to two months.

About three-quarters of returnees and families in host communities reduced portion sizes or restricted the food consumption of adults so small children could eat.

About 40% of returnees and host families surveyed had to borrow food or rely on friends and relatives for at least three days a week – with 13% of returnees and 9% of host families saying they had to get food from others every day.

Almost 8 million children in Afghanistan – or one in three – are facing crisis levels of hunger.

Nearly one in six families live in tents, according to the survey, with most returnees having little or no means to support themselves.

Only a third had managed to bring assets back with them from Pakistan.

Nearly half (47%) said there were no jobs available in Afghanistan, with 81% saying that they do not have any skills that could lead to employment.

Almost two thirds (65%) of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school. The majority (85%) told Save the Children that they don’t have the necessary documents to register and enroll in school.

In Pakistan, more than two thirds of these children had been attending school.

Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said: “Families are returning to Afghanistan with virtually nothing. Most are relying on relatives or friends to support them – and these communities already have little to support themselves.

“The return of so many people is creating an additional strain on already overstretched resources. Children need support and stability. Many undocumented Afghan children were born in Pakistan – Afghanistan is not the place they call home,” he said.

He added that in addition to the returns from Pakistan, 600,000 Afghans arrived from Iran last year. Also, “families have been forced from their homes by multiple disasters, including the series of earthquakes in Herat and the ongoing drought. Afghanistan is also now home to the second largest number of internally displaced people in the world – or roughly 1 in 7 people,” Malik said.

According to him, Afghanistan not only needs urgent funding from international donors and governments – but also needs long term, community-based solutions to help all displaced Afghans rebuild their lives.