Learning Centers for Rural Afghan Women

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your support of the Afghan Institute of Learning’s (AIL) Learning Centers in Herat. So far in 2015, the centers have educated 5,805 women and girls in classes on subjects including sewing, literacy, Arabic, English, computers, math, science, and more.

 One of the managers held a meeting about the AIL center with some of the older people in their village. One of the women at the meeting has a daughter taking classes at the center, and she said, “I am happy that my daughter is a student at this center. I once thought that girls should stay home and do the chores. I now see that my daughter is growing here. She can solve her own problems and is able to answer all of the questions that people ask her. She helps her brothers and sisters with their lessons. I am proud of her and know that she will have a good life in the future. I am thankful to AIL for helping to change my children’s lives.”

 Another of the Learning Centers has been working hard to establish a library. They now have over 500 volumes in their library and are issuing library cards to students and people from the village. The staff has worked to make the library a welcoming place and are very proud of their wonderful library.

 We are so thankful for your continued support. Together, we are making a difference in lives of the women and girls taking classes in AIL Learning Centers. Thank you!

Dear Friend,

A Special Day – Today!  Matching Funds Available!

Today we have a great opportunity which we would like your help with. There are matching funds available for ALL donations made to this project today. This is a guaranteed bonus!

Starting at 9am EDT on May 13^th, GlobalGiving is matching donations on our project! Any online donation up to $1,000 made today will go even further to help our work. You can donate any time between 9am EDT and midnight to have your donation partially matched by GlobalGiving –guaranteed! Just click here and support our program on May 13^th.

The percentage of the match will be determined at midnight; the more given today the greater our bonus!

Your donation will support our Learning Centers in Herat, Afghanistan! 

Please help by donating  to our project today, May 13th. Thank you.

Dear Friends,

 Thank you for your continued support of the Afghan Institute of Learning’s (AIL) Learning Centers in Herat, Afghanistan! In 2014, 17,469 people took classes at AIL’s Learning Centers in Herat, 11,453 of whom were women. Classes offered range from Arabic and English, to math and literacy, to tailoring, beautician and even computer classes.

 In 2014, AIL began to offer classes inside a women’s prison. The teachers of these classes are working to teach the women skills that they can use to support their families after they leave the prison. Classes being taught include English, Arabic, literacy, beautician classes and computers. In addition to educating and teaching skills, the teachers are teaching accountability and responsibility to the women so that they will have a better chance at success when they leave the prison.

 In a different Learning Center, in addition to their studies, some of the young women have come together to form a volleyball team! They have found a coach to help them, and practice every day after their studies have been completed. The coach reports that the team is very hardworking and the coach is optimistic about their chances against other teams.

 AIL’s Learning Centers can truly be life changing places for the women who attend classes at them. One such woman is Najema. She is now studying in the third level of literacy class, and is well on her way to a bright future, but things were not always so great for Najema. She was born in a remote area, and due to the traditions of the area was not allowed to attend school. She married young, and after she had to travel abroad to seek treatment for a heart condition, her husband divorced her. Sadly, Najema lost her will to live and became depressed. She moved back in with her family, and upon doing so, she noticed the AIL Learning Center. She spoke with her parents about the center, and they all agreed that she should begin to take classes. Now, she sees only happy days ahead saying, “The students and teachers here have motivated me to change my life and become literate. I have so many friends here. My life has changed for the better, and since I am still young, my goal is to complete my studies at the Center and enroll in a school as soon as I am able.”

 Thank you again for your support of AIL’s Learning Centers in Herat Province! Your gifts help AIL to offer support to new centers and programs each year. Thank you so much! 

Dear Friends,

Thank you for supporting AIL Learning Centers (LCs) in Herat in 2014! This year has been fantastic for the LCs, with nearly 12,000 women and girls coming through the doors of AIL’s centers for classes in subjects such as, English, math, science, Arabic, tailoring, crochet, computers and more. This summer and fall were a tumultuous time in Afghanistan, but we are happy to say that despite the instability, all of the LCs remain open. In addition, the AIL office in Herat has begun supporting three new Learning Centers.

Our staff recently spoke with a 24 year-old woman named Zahra who is taking classes at one LC in Herat Province. Zahra came to the center to enroll her children in classes and saw that there were many women her age having lessons. She spoke with the women who told her that the center offered great classes for women. Her husband was against the idea at first, but she enrolled anyway. They had many disagreements about her taking lessons, but Zahra’s husband was soon convinced that the classes were a good idea after the young woman learned to sew and was able to start a small businesses sewing clothing for other families.

Zahra said “I am now so happy that I have a skill. My husband is very happy as well. He has seen that I have learned this skill in a sound, safe and good educational environment. The class has been helpful in other ways too. I have made friends, and learned so much about how to keep my children healthy. I am so thankful to AIL for offering me the opportunity to support myself and my family and changing my life for the better.”

Thank you for supporting our program, and women just like Zahra who are looking for a way to improve their lives. We have attached our year end newsletter to this report and hope you will take a few minutes to read it. 

• Year End Newsletter (PDF)
  

Thank you so much for supporting our project to provide an education to the women in Herat Province! As the situation in Afghanistan continues to change, your support becomes more important than ever. With your help, we will be able to continue offering a high quality education to the women who rely on us. During the first 6 months of 2014, the 21 Learning Centers overseen by the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) office in Herat, Afghanistan were able to provide an education to 5,983 women!

The AIL Learning Centers offer a variety of classes, from literacy and math, to sewing and embroidery, English and Arabic, cosmetology and even computers! Recently classes of computer students were promoted to the next level in their studies. At the promotion ceremony, a young woman named Sima was thrilled to share that because of her computer skills, a construction company had hired her! Her husband is a day laborer, and is not able to earn enough to support his family. Now, thanks to the AIL computer class, she is able to work and earn an income. Sima realizes that she might face challenges being a woman working outside of the home, but feels that she is ready to face them. She said, “I know that I might face problems because I am a woman, and there are some who feel that a woman shouldn’t work outside the home, but I want to work and will ignore whatever is said about me. I thank AIL for giving me this chance to change my life.”

Every day, your support is helping AIL to education women just like Sima. Women who want to learn a skill, so that they can change their lives. We thank you so much for seeing the value in our project, and hope that you will continue to help the women of Herat, Afghanistan who seek to become educated. Thank you.