 dreamfly
afghanistan
What are we doing in Afghanistan?
We're starting a primary school in Jalalabad,
Afghanistan that will launch in spring/summer
2010. Our goal is to create a safe learning
environment for 100 children with free access to
high quality education with a special focus on
hygiene, civics, art & craft and skills that
help them break the cycle of poverty and rebuild
Afghanistan. We are also building a craft center
for the mothers of the children who will be
going to our school. This craft center will
train women with the skills of sewing and
embroidery in order to provide economic
empowerment and also provide a sustainable model
for the running of this school.
How can you help?
We need your financial
support and time to make this project
successful. We require $60,000 for the
first year of operation. So far $10,000 has
been raised. We still need $50,000. Help us
by donating your money or time. Learn more
on how you
can help.
Why Afghanistan?
In May 2009, we visited Afghanistan and were
overwhelmed by the contrast: Unrelenting,
Unreasonable Hope - in the face of the most dire
conditions imaginable
(see pictures from our trip).
With 72% illiteracy rate, a country ravaged
by war with little to no infrastructure for
rebuilding itself, Afghanistan is urgently in
need of education to kickstart the
reconstruction of a healthy and prosperous
society. Unfortunately, these needs are
currently not being met.
Another core dreamfly value is to bring
disparate communities together. We're based in
the US. Afghanistan and the US have a long
history of tension. We believe this is a great
opportunity to bring these communities closer
together - dispel the myths and help rebuild
this relationship.
Dreamfly also has experience working in the
Pakisan region and we can bring a lot of
learnings from that to Afghanistan especially in
areas of curriculum, teacher training and result
oriented work.
For these reasons, we feel we can have the
highest impact in Afghanistan.
Our partner:
We are partnering with
Rubia,
a registered 501-c3 non profit organization that
works locally in Afghanistan. Rubia’s mission is
to develop economic opportunities through craft
heritage, to support education and to promote
health and well being for Afghan women and their
families. Rubia and dreamfly share common values
and have decided to join hands to have greater
impact than either organization would be able to
individually. Rubia will handle all donations
and will be responsible for on-the-ground
execution. This includes renting a school
building, recruiting teachers and managing the
day to day operations for the school and craft
center.
Long term plan:
Our immediate goal is to finance the school
operation for 3 years. Beyond those 3 years, we
have two approaches to ensure the long term
sustainability of the school and craft center.
1. create an endowment fund that will cover
the cost of yearly operation. We will begin
focusing on this once the school and craft
center are operational and have good cadence
2. we're trying to establish a new model
where women are empowered through craft training
and given an opportunity to sell their work in
the US. In doing so, we're improving the quality
of their lives and hope to translate that into
resources that will then finance the education
of their children.
Regardless of approach, our commitment to
Afghanistan is for the long term.
Questions? We'd love to hear
from you contact us
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