Tailoring: A Small Business Skill for Afghan Women

Dear Friends,

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

We need your help!
Please vote for these photos NOW until Friday, May 26th at 12:00:01 EDT.

AIL Photo     CHI Photo

Your vote will help us win a $1000 bonus prize and the opportunity to be featured on the GlobalGiving homepage and in their social media outreach! Thank You.

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.

Dear Friends,

We are delighted to let you know that an AIL project has been selected as one of only six projects in the GlobalGiving Girl Fund! The project is 921 Afghan Institute of Learning Empowers Afghan Women. This project will receive one sixth of the donations made during the rest of this year to this special fund!

We would not have been selected for this opportunity without the support we received in the month of March from many donors such as yourselves. Great team effort! Thank you! 

Project Update

The sewing students are grateful to be able to learn a useful skill which they will use to earn money and to make clothing for their families. In March, 12 Herat area Learning Centers provided sewing classes to a total student body of 852 females who were taking courses that varied in length from 6 to 12 months long. In March, the Kabul centers had 375 females enrolled in sewing classes.

Recently, AIL purchased a batch of 14 new sewing machines for its centers after a successful fundraising effort. The students were pleased to have new equipment as some of the old machines were less than reliable after years of use.

“My name is Fatema. I am a student of the sewing class. Prior to attending the sewing class at this LC, I took sewing classes elsewhere. I use to have to pay fees and I did not know how to sew well. After attending classes here, I am able to sew different kinds of clothes. I am grateful for this LC and Professor Sakena Yacoobi.”

Thank you for being part of the support for these centers and the women who rely on them.