Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care

by Afghan Institute of Learning
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care
Save Afghan Women & Children with Health Care

Dear Supporters, We greatly appreciate your continued support for Save Rural Afghan Women and Children with Health care! We have been given a wonderful opportunity with The Safer World Fund!! For a limited time, any donation to this project will be matched 100% by The Safer World Matching Fund! Please help us take advantage of this amazing offer to give health care to even more women and children.

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The Afghanistan Institute of Learning provides health services through its six health clinics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Education about health topics are also offered at these clinics as well as through the Community Health Worker programs. In the first six months in 2010, AIL treated 101,821 patients and gave health education to 104,906 individuals.

At a recent Reproductive Health workshop, one woman shared the following: “All of the time my babies were premature and I didn’t take care about proper eating of food and vegetables and family planning. When I came here I learned how to take care of my babies. I believe AIL is like an experienced mother in our society who is here to get more information to the women of Afghanistan.”

Another participant said “In the period of Taliban we hadn’t have any clinic or any hospital in my village. All the pregnant women delivered their babies in their houses. This process was very dangerous for the women. Right now, we have a clinic in my district all the women. Women go to that clinic and solve their pregnancy problems. My thanks to AIL that support the clinic in my village.”

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The Afghanistan Institute of Learning provides health services through its six health clinics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Education about health topics are also offered at these clinics as well as through the Community Health Worker programs. In the first six months in 2010, AIL treated 101,821 patients and gave health education to 104,906 individuals.

At a recent Reproductive Health workshop, one woman shared the following: “All of the time my babies were premature and I didn’t take care about proper eating of food and vegetables and family planning. When I came here I learned how to take care of my babies. I believe AIL is like an experienced mother in our society who is here to get more information to the women of Afghanistan.”

Another participant said “In the period of Taliban we hadn’t have any clinic or any hospital in my village. All the pregnant women delivered their babies in their houses. This process was very dangerous for the women. Right now, we have a clinic in my district all the women. Women go to that clinic and solve their pregnancy problems. My thanks to AIL that support the clinic in my village.”

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“Reach out to others and give a gift to yourself.”

Sakena Yacoobi, founder and executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, urged the advanced degree graduates of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California to “reach out to others and give a gift to yourself” in the process in her 2010 Commencement speech. She has been a model of such action since 1995. Under her leadership, the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) has delivered education and health services to over 7.1 million Afghan women, children and men. In appreciation of her work, SCU honored her with an honorary Doctor of Education Honoris Causa degree.

“Health and literacy are keys to human rights, empowerment and self sufficiency,” says Dr Yacoobi, Mann Award winner.

Less than a week later, Dr. Yacoobi was at the Global Health Conference in Washington, DC to receive the 2010 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights established to honor the late Jonathan Mann and to call attention to the vital links between health and human rights. The Award is bestowed annually on an individual who shows an overwhelming commitment to health and human rights, often at great personal danger.

Sakena Yacoobi considers access to health care and education as human rights and takes a holistic approach to advancing health and human rights, particularly for women. Growing up in Afghanistan, Dr. Yacoobi saw firsthand the damage that inequity and a lack of education and lack of access to health care can inflict upon women and children. After receiving her undergraduate and masters degree in health in the U.S., she returned to help her fellow countrywomen. As the Taliban were closing schools for women and girls in Afghanistan, Dr. Yacoobi founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) in 1995 to fight oppressive traditions that left women uneducated and put their lives at risk.

Dr. Yacoobi and AIL believe that “all Afghan women can be catalysts for change in Afghanistan. With an education that teaches them how to think and to educate others, as well as an awareness of their human rights, women can create a better future for all Afghans… we know that educated women will educate families, communities, and the nation to bring lasting peace.” And the same is true for health. Health education is integral to all of AIL’s activities, as knowledge about health empowers individuals to care for themselves and their families.

Believing that access to education is a basic human right that should be available to all women and girls, AIL began by providing literacy, primary and secondary education, university classes, and teacher training for women across Afghanistan. AIL pioneered the concept of Women’s Learning Centers in Afghanistan, which teach literacy, health education, human rights education, religious study, and income-generating skills. AIL was the first organization to offer human rights and leadership training to Afghan women. AIL has integrated health programs into its work and now operates seven clinics that provide prenatal care, safe delivery, well-baby care, immunizations, and primary-care services. AIL also operates mobile medical outreach campaigns, trains and supports community health workers, and developed a nurse/midwife/health educator course that graduates some of the most highly sought-after healthcare providers in Afghanistan.

AIL currently serves 350,000 women and children each year in Afghanistan and Pakistan and has provided education, training and health services to over 7.1 million Afghans since 1995. AIL is run by women and operated by women: of its 480 employees, more than 70% are women.

Every student in every one of AIL’s Women’s Learning Center s, every patient in AIL’s seven health clinics, and every family served through AIL’s Community Health Worker program receives basic health education along with health services and has opportunities to receive culturally sensitive additional “healthy families” training. AIL also provides 2-5 day workshops in reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, self immolation (rarely done by others for security reasons) and general health. This program targets young women, ages 10-25 years old, so that they have the knowledge they need early enough to prevent the health problems of their predecessors.

Dr. Yacoobi’s approach to health and human rights is changing the culture of Afghanistan. Social dynamics have improved among families and neighbors as a result of the contributions healthy and educated girls and women make in their homes and communities. Under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, Dr. Yacoobi is rebuilding family cohesion and a culture that respects the rights of each individual.

Though at times weary from the many demands put upon her, Sakena has no plans to slow down. “There is so much that needs to be done to help my people,” she says. “I have deep hope for Afghanistan, and I am proud of the women who get up in the morning, say goodbye to their family, and go to work… go to learning… because they know that they must learn. The only way they can stop problems is to learn. They are learning, and they are not afraid.”

Dr. Yacoobi’s vision is to transform the way that Afghans regard human rights for women and for all Afghans. She firmly believes that when the war is over, the Afghan people will be self-sufficient and a people who respect everyone’s rights.

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We’d like to share some great news with you that will give you a better understanding of our project and the work we do in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Through the generosity of the Skoll Foundation, a timely video was produced about life in Afghanistan and the work AIL is doing to make a difference. The film producer and crew did a beautiful job capturing the essence of the best of the Afghan people, and the struggles they work with to achieve a better life. This film is now on YouTube, and it will be the best seven minutes you spend today. Moderated by Sakena Yacoobi, AIL’s executive director, this video offers a true taste of Afghanistan. Here’s the link to view it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7t1Xu_MwHg We are also adding this as a permanent link to this project for future viewing. Your donation makes a precious impact on the lives of Afghan men, women and children. We thank you for your past support, and encourage you to forward this message to those who can help to continue this important work.

A reminder: June 16 is a special Global Giving Matching Day! - GlobalGiving will be matching all donations up to $1,000 per donor per project for this project at a 50% match. If you could like to donate again to our project, your donation will go further on June 16th. Thank you for your support….

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Organization Information

Afghan Institute of Learning

Location: Dearborn, Michigan - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @AIL_ngo
Project Leader:
Sakena Yacoobi
Founder & CEO
Dearborn , Michigan United States
$167,928 raised of $200,000 goal
 
2,064 donations
$32,072 to go
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