Scholarships for Afghan Women and Girls

The Yacoobi Private Schools in Herat and Kabul provide high quality education for children through 12^th grade. The schools offer a range of academic subjects such as Arabic, English, math and computing but also many extra- curricular classes. The latter include many sports, art, music, environmental education, leadership training and a student parliament. The female scholarship students are entitled to participate in all aspects of the school which provides them with a good school experience both on the educational and social levels.

There is a lot that needs to be done to run a school and here is a snapshot of some of the administrative activities from the last 2 months.

Activities in June included: class competitions both within classes and between different classes, celebration of Mother’s Day in June, staff broadcasted academic texts and subjects to social media pages and channels, exam results received and prizes awarded, follow up of students’ health issues in the special health room, calling parents and having meetings with parents, students and teachers are assessed weekly and monthly. 

Other activities from May included: meeting with Meraj TV for video clips and photos of the school, sending 2 female teachers to the TV station for Eid presentation, holding May sports competitions, the formation of committees for culture, literacy, health and discipline, collecting donations for students who could not afford their fee.

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

DONATE between April 3-7 Little by Little campaign – Eligible donations up to $50 will be matched at 50% per unique donor per organization. You can donate to CHI and AIL and get match and donate more than $50 but over $50 will not be matched.

The students at the private Yacoobi high schools in Herat and Kabul receive a comprehensive, high quality education. The female scholarship students would not be able to attend such a school without the financial aid your gifts provide.  Part of the school year includes annual exams which have just taken place,as well as regular testing during the rest of the year.

Some scholarship students are part of the two year- long leadership project which has 50 (25 female) high achieving students. These students learn English, leadership and management skills, self- confidence, public speaking and presentation skills. They go on field trips to offices, libraries and other sites. The students also do community engagement, visiting hospitals and doing environmental clean-up.

Following on from high school, many school graduates will go on to join the AIL Youth Club which has over 100 members, half of them female. The club provides opportunities for the growth of social activists, scientists, writers and academically minded youth ages 19-26. They learn about good citizenship, democracy, advocacy, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, conflict management and more. The females recently held their meeting via zoom and the males held an in-person meeting.

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

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)