Project Title: Afghan Friends Network

Location: Afghanistan

Grant Amount: $45,000

Grantee Website: www.afghanfriends.net

Areas of Impact: Economic Sustainability, Education & Literacy

Mission of Afghan Friends Network
Afghan Friends Network delivers sustainable programs in education and cultural exchange that promote self-sufficiency and empower Afghans, in particular, women and girls.

Summary
Our Dining for Women $45,000 support will help fund two years of proven girls’ and women’s education in Ghazni through three educational programs that serve to empower marginalized girls and women:

1. Khurasan Learning Centers: providing 4th – 12th grade education in Math, Science, and English to 500 girls annually to prepare them for college exams and empower them to be wage-earners and leaders.

2. Women’s Literacy and Vocational Training Program (located at the KLCs): which provides a three-year course to 80 widows and adult women. They learn language, Math and handiwork skills, which empower these women to generate income to buy rice, flour, oil, sugar and other household items to support their families. It also increases their civic engagement;

3. University Scholarship Program which awards annually $360 scholarships to 16 graduates of the Khurasan Learning Centers and covers the costs of transportation, supplies and food.

Ghazni residents have advocated to have the two Khurasan Learning Centers (KLCs) open six days per week, 11 months out of the year for their daughters and women. The Centers are managed by the former Director of Education in Ghazni, Ms. Fatema Mushtaq, and staffed entirely by Afghans.