Emergency Aid for Afghan Families

Dear Friends,

AIL is gathering resources both monetary and in kind to be ready for the next emergency. AIL resources were used after the April floods in Herat so need to be replenished. The key supplies handed out previously after earthquakes and floods were food such as rice, oil, beans in addition to blankets, floor mats and buckets. Most important, of course, is having a supply of money available so that staff can go out and buy what is needed at the time of the emergency.

 Here is a story from one aid recipient, “I am Maryam. I live in Herat City. I am a housekeeper who takes care of her five children. My husband is a constructor worker who earns 150 Af per day. Therefore, I have to work in other houses to help him financially. We live a hard life barely making ends meet. My children do not go to school, as we cannot afford their expenses.

The flood waters also added to our misery by ruining our small thatched house.  We lost all our furniture and utensils that we had earned during the years. Our poor life was under water.  The roof of our house had fallen down. My children were screaming.We had to live on the street because there was no shelter for us to save ourselves. In those tought conditions I heard about the distribution of foodstuffs for poor people by AIL. I went to see them. They were so kind to us. They helped us. I pray for them. I wish all people be like them to understand us. The food they gave us saved us, until my husband found a job. .    

Thank you for your support.

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Dear Friends,

The Afghan Institute of Learning and Creating Hope International have photos in this year's GlobalGiving's Photo Contest!

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Updates from programs!

Girls team wins Technovation Challenge with Education App!
Professor Sakena Yacoobi High School , Herat has won first place in the girls  Technovation Challenge competition creating mobile phone applications.
The 5 girl team beat 36 other teams from Afghanistan with their education app Amozgar, that teaches literacy. Sponsored by AIL, they worked on this project for 3 months creating an app with the alphabet with audio and words and sentences.  Their message, “With Amozgar we change homes into schools.”
The team and their app now move on to the semi- final round of judging with 100 teams from around the world. Six finalists will be picked from this round to compete for the final prize.

Radio Meraj wins more Top Awards in Media in Western Afghanistan!
The Afghanistan Institute for Research and Studies held a contest for 161 media outlets. Meraj was permitted to enter 3 categories and won all 3!  Meraj won best news package, best analysis and speakers, and best innovative programming. In addition, a photographer working with AIL won the best photography prize for one of his AIL photographs.
The competition attracted media outlets from all over the western zone including the well- known stations that have been operating for decades. Meraj’s success is remarkable in that it has been in operation for only two years yet won awards usually associated with stations of 5 plus years of experience. It won the most awards among all the existing media.
Radio Meraj is many years ahead of its strategic plan and has gained popular and professional credibility and success making it one of the top three Herat stations.   The station operates 20 hours a day reaching 9 out of the 15 districts of Herat.