Scholarships for Afghan Women and Girls

Children love to play and they are learning while doing it. They learn vital life skills such as compromise, empathy, teamwork, sharing and cooperation. As they explore the world through sight, touch and hearing they become curious and develop their own ideas. Playing board games, such as chess, develops skills in risk taking, rational thinking, perseverance, decision making and acceptance of both failure and success.

Play is part of school life and part of the education process for all ages. The scholarship students benefit from the variety of educational play offered at the schools. Many of them come from poor families that do not have the resources to provide them with games, books or social interaction. School life is enriching beyond their expectation.

In the last few months: The private schools held a scientific, cultural and arts fair with 500 different projects presented which reflected the creativity of the students. Families attended the event and students where keen to show what they have been learning. AIL started up another year of its Youth Club with 133 male and female youth joining. The club provides opportunities for the growth of social activists, scientists, writers and academically minded youth. They learn about good citizenship, democracy, advocacy, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, conflict management and more.

Thank you for your support for the education of Afghan girls and young women.

A note from Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, CEO

“I am grateful to be able to say that things are going okay with AIL’s programs and our four schools. The schools are open with students attending classes but some locations are seeing lower numbers. The children attending school are happy, they feel safe and grateful to be in school. We provide meals twice during the school day and sometimes we are able to send them home with snacks. AIL’s women's learning centers have redesigned their curriculum to accommodate girls who are currently not allowed to go to regular schools. To reach children who are unable to attend school or a center, we have developed a high school curriculum for grades7-12 to be broadcast by TV Meraj. There are teaching segments four times a day and students can submit questions via YouTube, Telegram, email or call, with staff available to help. The channel reaches the entire Asia region and is available as a livestream anywhere!”

Schools are busy places; here is a snapshot of June’s additional activities from a staff member of one of our Herat schools.

“This month we organized a football competition for 4^th-6^th grades and another for the 7^th-12^th grades. Staff helped the team captains with management skills and supervised the performance. The science department met to discuss upcoming exams. A 3- day educational seminar was held for female students from 7^th-12^th grades and covered math, physics and chemistry. Staff attended the Nemobal Organization meeting on creative solutions to teachers’ problems. Health checks were conducted on students this month and student health, hygiene and serious health needs were discussed. A leadership and management workshop was held for teachers and students. The school contributed slides on Islamic education and math for the Meraj World Academy. The school celebrated World Environment Day and International Mothers’ Day, giving mothers flowers and letters from students.” 

The female recipients of scholarships benefit from the high quality and comprehensive education they receive at the high schools. Many go on to university or other higher learning after school and have many more opportunities in life because of their education. 

Thank you for your support for the education of Afghan girls and young women.

Our scholarship funding helps to change the lives of many young girls who would not otherwise be able to attend a quality school or university. The Yacoobi private schools are always looking for useful training topics to present to female students to help their growth into confident young women. The education at the schools is holistic including academic, arts, sports, leadership, citizenship and personal development.

This year a workshop was held on self-confidence which was attended by 50 girls aged 14 to 18.  The girls learned that self-confidence is about an attitude your skills and abilities. It is centered on self-acceptance and trust in yourself and conveys a sense of control of one’s life. They learned about their strengths and weaknesses and to develop a positive view of themselves.

One participant said, “I learned to choose a bold, engaging, yet polite tone in speaking, to show my confidence. This will increase your self-esteem and make you believe in yourself. To look serious, not too excited or nervous and to not laugh too much. If people see a sense of leadership in you, they will pay more attention to what you say.” 

Another workshop about public speaking was held for 23 girls aged 15to 23 years at the Yacoobi English Center. This center is an English language only facility which accelerates language acquisition through an intensive program. One staff person said, “At the start most students did not know how to speak in public and were very shy. Now they are confident in presenting their ideas and engaging with an audience. They feel more positive about themselves and have a positive outlook.” 

The special two year-long Leadership Class at the Herat Yacoobi private schools, has increased in size and now has 25 female students. This class also provides lessons in self-confidence and public speaking as well as a range of other topics such as citizenship, English, reading, science and civic engagement opportunities 

Helping girls develop into well-rounded, confident young women is the goal of all the education at the schools. We want girls to reach their potential, be able to advocate for themselves and to contribute their talents to society.

 Attached is the 2021 Annual Report of the Sakena Fund, which we are sure you will find interesting.

Thank you for your support. 

• Annual_Report_2021_compressed.pdf (PDF)
  

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

This project provides financial aid to poor Afghan students so they can attend a quality high school and also provides for those seeking to continue their education after leaving school.

Currently, we are providing funds to 8 students attending university in the Herat area and 4 students attending in the Kabul area. The Herat students are aged between 19 and 32 with the 3 females studying, economics, accounting and psychology. The Kabul students are between the ages of 20 and 25 with 2 females who are studying, literature and Islamic Sharia.

The four Yacoobi Private High Schools provide a high quality education for students, with many of the teachers trained by the Afghan Institute of Learning. The subjects available include academics, sports, arts such as music and painting. In addition, there are classes in leadership, good citizenship, volunteering and social activism such as environmental clean- up.

Afghan Institute of Learning 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. 

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Afghan girls.

The Yacoobi private schools are operating in the very difficult circumstances now facing Afghanistan. The 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 students study many academic subjects but also learn life skills, behavior and core values such as, compassion, trust, respect, listening and advocacy. All girls, from the youngest to the oldest, learn about good manners, building on what they have learned at home.  “We teach students about manners at school.  This is part of our curriculum of core values which includes, trust, respect for others, listening, advocacy, cooperation and caring, good citizenship, leadership and self-confidence. Good manners help children gain the respect and confidence of others. A child learns from what she sees and seeing elders treating others kindly and with respect, she will copy that behavior.  Girls, especially need to develop self-confidence and leadership skills. Society works better when everyone is valued, listened to and treated with respect.”

We are delighted that this project and our microproject (which fund individual $300 scholarships for girls) have changed the lives of many girls, who have gone on to higher education or gained employment.

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Afghan youth.