Help Afghans Work on Climate Change

One focus of the environment program is finding ways to keep the environment clean and reducing pollution.

Students cleaned the school yard and classrooms and learned about natural cleaning products. They raised awareness of plastic waste by not using plastic bags and taking reusable bags with you when shopping. They also talked about investing in a reusable water bottle, refusing single use plastics and making sure items are recycled and waste goes in the right place.  Everyone is advised not to print items unless necessary as cutting down use of paper products is beneficial.

AIL’s Youth Club worked on getting the message out on social media about ways everyone can help the environment. It is a subject young people can talk about with friends, families and neighbors to keep awareness of this issue in people’s minds. 

Students were asked to write articles about this issue for school work and to make presentations in class. Meraj Radio and TV produced ads about protecting the environment and ran these during broadcasts.

Thank you for your support. 

AIL facilitators at AIL centers and schools raise awareness about protecting the environment and the dangers and impact of deforestation. Afghanistan has experienced devastating flooding in recent years some of which could have been avoided or been less severe if deforestation had not taken place.  Planting trees and creating green spaces is a top priority for many environmentalists in the country.

AIL’s environmental awareness education includes topics such as: plant a tree where you can, go paperless at home, buy recycled products and recycle them again, buy certified wood products (look for the Forest Stewardship Council mark), support companies that have a sustainable approach committed to reducing deforestation, raise awareness in your social group, buy only what you need, no palm oil products.

The education effort reaches school age children; the English class wrote about forests in warm climates, learned about plants for their area, youth gave presentations on forests and the need for green space. Radio Meraj produces clips on saving the environment and the need for tree planting.

People need environmental education and information on effective measures they can take at home to do their part in preserving and improving the environment. AIL is helping to fill the information gap and encourage better environmental care. 

Your support is vital as it helps us maintain our environmental education program.  Thank you for your continued interest.

Dirty water poses a great threat to life and health in Afghanistan.  A recent report concluded that 80% of drinking water in the country is polluted and this commonly results in a high incidence of food poisoning as well as transmission of waterborne disease. Low rainfall, irregular use of groundwater and insufficient water infrastructure in Afghan cities are some of the main causes of water pollution.  Many poorer and uneducated Afghans are not aware of why water makes them sick and how they can guard against water pollution.

The environmental team teaches youth about all aspects of pollution so they are then able to give presentations on the subject and effectively convey information to those they meet. The youth were tasked with writing about water pollution and they met with the Environment Department of Herat. They also did a clean up of the school campus and the local road.  AIL’s magazine, which reaches many hundreds of people,  included an article on water pollution, and Radio Meraj produced clips highlighting the problem.

Your support is vital in helping us maintain our environmental education program.

Attached is the 2021 Annual Report for the Sakena Fund, which we hope you will enjoy.

Thank you for your continued interest.

• Annual_Report_2021_.pdf (PDF)
  

***There are only a few days left to donate in 2021! We would love your support for our projects. Thank you!*** 

Our students are used to a great deal of plastic being used in daily life. The sheer volume of plastics being used each year and the detrimental effects of plastic waste on the environment is of increasing concern.  Kabul alone is reputed to use 7 tons of plastic per day! In many cases there are alternatives to plastic, but as our youth grow up using a lot of plastic they tend to continue this as adults.

To help address the need for education about plastics, AIL Learning Centers and schools raise awareness of the issues around plastics use in their classes, via social media and noticeboards. Students study: how to recycle, avoiding single use bottles and plastic bags, alternatives to plastics for storage and food hygiene,  hundreds of years for plastic to decompose and animals can ingest plastic, microplastics found everywhere including in animals.

Everyone needs to be educated about what they can do as individuals, to help with climate change and environmental pollution.  The youth of today will become adults tomorrow with a greater understanding of environmental issues and a desire to create sustainable change in society.

AIL Outreach 2021: 23,905 students, 18,132 PPE distributed, 6 health clinics, 50-bed Covid-19 hospital, 95,593 patient treatments, 59,888 health education, 13,050 food aid families served, 22 radio broadcasts daily, 8 hours of TV programs, 12 provinces reached. 

Your support is vital in helping us maintain our environmental education program.

Afghanistan has been stunned by recent developments and people are adapting as best they can, to a new situation which remains both unclear and uncertain as to the future.  AIL’s current priority is to provide urgently needed assistance to the thousands of displaced families who have flooded into Kabul and Herat. We will continue to work towards a more sustainable future. The drought shows how important it is we know everything we can about modern agriculture techniques, the best plants for our region, all things that environmentalism encourages to sustain our world. We also need clean air and water, which plants provide for the people around them. Thus, the health of our nation is tied to the health of our land. We will continue to work on and expand education of this important fact.

Some centers provide a staging point for aid. Our staff are all working, though offices currently are men only with women working from home. The centers are all female and await instructions from the Taliban with regard to procedures required for reopening centers to our students. Our clinics have expanded their capacity to cope with the large numbers of refugees that are in the area.

The Yacoobi private schools are open and operating under the rules that have been given such as dividing male and female. It is exam season and students are studying hard and sitting their exams as usual. It is a great credit to them and their teachers as everyone has heightened levels of fear, stress and anxiety. The private TV and Radio Meraj are not broadcasting but awaiting instructions in how to recommence and staff are creating content and archiving materials for broadcast at a later date.

We have been touched by the outreach of support and outpouring of donations to help the Afghan people. We thank you for standing by Afghanistan as it faces another humanitarian crisis on top of Covid-19 and drought. 

Update on Environmental Education

One topic covered recently was prompted by the hot weather in Afghanistan. One aspect of this is irrigation with emphasis placed on replacing old, wasteful irrigation systems and using plants that require less water. Ten teams of students were created to teach about hot weather issues, conserving water, water pollution. Radio Meraj produced clips about saving the environment, reducing water consumption and checking water systems for leaks. In May, the topic was air pollution and how to reduce it as well as campus clean-up campaigns at schools and centers. 

Your support is vital in helping us maintain our environmental education program.