Code To Inspire (CTI)

Founder and Executive Director, Fereshteh Forough was born a refugee in Iran after her family fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. After the fall of the Taliban in 2002, Fereshteh and her family returned to Herat, Afghanistan where she earned her Bachelor’s in Computer Science. She later earned her Master’s from Technical University of Berlin. She then returned to Herat University as Computer Science faculty and taught for three years. Fereshteh advocated for women’s education, for which she was vehemently opposed, ultimately forcing her to leave Afghanistan in 2012 and settle in New York City. In 2015, she founded the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan, leading all aspects of operations and fundraising remotely. Fereshteh has fought her entire life to carve out a place of opportunity for herself and girls like her, who seek education and a better place in life.

CTI addresses gender inequities in STEM education, employment and income. We empower young women in war torn Afghanistan to drive economic and social progress by teaching them how to code, find programming jobs, launch technology ventures, become financially independent and successfully compete in the global tech market. The work has only begun by utilizing the tools of technology education and outreach to provide women with leverage in their fight for social, political and economic equality. CTI’s proof of concept model is replicable in any non-permissive environment. Women who have been empowered with access and skills relevant to the global economy have far reaching effects especially in cultures that have only known women to be subservient. These benefits include a better quality of life for women, their families and their nation. Evidence shows educating and employing females reduce poverty, spur economic growth, improve overall health and decrease gender disparities.

Girls and Women in Afghanistan and other developing countries face significant inequities that limit their access to education, the labor force and fair wages. The World Bank estimates 150 million females globally do not have access to any form of education. Currently only 21% of the 4 million Afghan females between the ages of 15-30 have the opportunity for education beyond the primary levels. More than 80% of men around the world participate in the labor force, compared to 50% internationally and 19% in Afghanistan. On global average, women workers earn 23% less than their male counterparts doing the same job. In Afghanistan, this number is significantly higher.

Biased cultural norms continue to perpetuate gender inequality. There is a strong reluctance to accept women’s rights in Afghanistan and developing countries in general. The women who break this barrier often face social isolation and threats of violent reprisal. Other barriers include minimal financial resources, travel limitations, low wages and domestic obligations. While these factors are deep rooted, they are surmountable.

CTI strives to close the gender gap in education and income in Afghanistan and across the developing world by teaching digital literacy to females and helping them secure employment upon graduation. In 2015, we opened the first coding school for females in Afghanistan. Enrollment has increased every year since. 

Our replicable model solves a host of problems faced by women in conflict zones by providing a safe space to learn, work, and gain self-confidence free of social constraints, at no cost to the students. 

The job-driven curriculum consists of Web Development, Mobile Application Development, Gaming and Graphics Design giving our students access to millions of jobs in the global marketplace. Fereshteh hosts weekly Google Hangouts and monthly conference calls with the students where she discusses what’s happening at school and listens to student feedback.

In one year, students gain the skills needed for quality employment. Some students choose to return for an additional year to learn another skill. Once students graduate we help them secure employment. 

The demand for tech education will continue to grow, and CTI will continue to strive to obtain the needed funding to grow from a nascent cradle of education into a respected, sustainable community institution.

CTI serves girls and young women between the ages of 15-30 years old in conflict zones and developing countries. Every one of them is challenged with figuring out how to thrive in a nonpermissive culture. Most of our students are from low income families and many have never used a computer. 

Growing up under similar circumstances as the women we serve gives Fereshteh a broad understanding of our student’s needs. This, in fact, is what fuels her passion for this project. While this general understanding is helpful, we realize that honing down on the current needs of our students then incorporating their needs and feedback into our services is crucial in delivering high quality education.

While we engage with students in a variety of ways (e.g. surveys, online meetings, classroom discussions) we have found the most effective way to get student feedback is during regular meetings with their mentors.

Our solution naturally addresses their broader needs of education, employment with quality income and financial independence. Their day to day needs are addressed as they arise.

CTI is teaching technology skills to girls and young women in non-permissive cultures. We began in Afghanistan where females have not only been left behind, it was actually illegal for them to be educated a few years ago. CTI also provides the support the women need to secure employment with quality wages. As the women contribute to their household income, men are changing their biased attitudes about women in education and employment. As these individual attitudes evolve, the collective force of this shift impacts their communities and the laws/barriers that prevent women from contributing to society.

Creating CTI was very personal to me. 

As a young refugee girl in Iran, I was denied access to education but thanks to my mother, I understood its value early on in my life. I remember being in awe of her as she learned how to sew, then sold clothes to buy school supplies for me and my seven siblings. She proved to me that great things can start with empty hands. 

As I grew up I realized that education is a fundamental human right and a critical component for females to overcome oppression. I was now an activist.

Like all activists, I faced adversity. As a vocal, outgoing woman in Afghanistan in the field of technology pushing for gender equality, I endured  sexual harassment and threatening messages from my male classmates/colleagues. Eventually, this forced me to leave Afghanistan, but I wasn’t giving up. In fact, I was even more determined to make an impact. This is when I decided to create a coding school for females in Afghanistan. I wasn’t in the position to return to Afghanistan so I turned to my allies in Herat to support this process on the ground while I led from afar.

My passion for CTI’s mission stems from my personal journey navigating systems of oppression and my desire to prevent other women from facing these adversities. 

The transformation I have seen in our students’ lives and their families is what keeps me motivated on a daily basis. During the ten years I spent as a student and professor in the conservative city, Herat, I came across many girls who have never touched a computer, been online or had a basic phone. Very few even knew females could work in technology. Not only do they now know it’s possible, some are CTI students creating websites, games and mobile apps (then posting their excitement and achievements on social media.) 

Witnessing their excitement of learning new skills in a safe environment and discovering that they have the freedom of being whoever they want to be fuels my desire to scale our impact.

These transformations give me hope and confirm what I’ve always known: investing in women’s education in a war/conflict zone like Afghanistan is not only about making income but it is about changing the narrative in a country for women who have been deprived of their rights for decades.

I have found that because I have walked in the shoes of women living in non-permissive cultures and resiliently maneuvered through  a slew of obstacles to get where CTI and I are today, I’ve earned the respect needed to scale our impact. 

• Women and girls trust me and feel empowered to navigate the systems of oppression with the safe, supportive structures CTI has in place.

• While most men are supportive, many who initially oppose me have come around after seeing the impact of my work. 

• Funders, volunteers and employees choose to help my quest for gender equality because they believe in me.

• Institutions, other service organizations and businesses collaborate with me because they appreciate my integrity, reliability and persistence as well as the results CTI has achieved to date. 

• Leaders and women’s rights activists want to join forces with me after seeing my passion for the mission, my innovative problem solving skills and the abundance of energy I dedicate to being a change maker.

• Other communities are impressed by CTI’s impact and want us to establish a school in their area.

• I also receive a lot of speaking engagement requests from groups seeking inspiration and ideas on how to make socially just changes in their community.

Between this support system, the support The Elevate Prize brings, my master’s degree in computer science, my experience as a university professor, CTI’s success and my unyielding desire for equity, I believe I am well-positioned to deliver global change by scaling up CTI’s impact.

Perseverance has been an ongoing theme in my life. I was born a refugee in a war-torn region during a time when female refugees had few rights, including education. Many biased obstacles later:

• I became a COLLEGE GRADUATE -- with a masters degree in the traditionally male-dominated technology field, 

• Then a COLLEGE PROFESSOR in Afghanistan (where during much of my life, there was a female employment ban and girls over 8 years old were prohibited from attending school). 

• Even though the laws changed, sexist attitudes and systems still exist. Male students skipped my classes because they did not believe women were capable of teaching technology. I experienced ongoing sexual harassment and violent threats which eventually forced me to leave Afghanistan.

• And now I am the FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of a post-secondary school for females in Afghanistan. 

CTI is literally a product of my perseverance over adversity. 

And technology… Due to my pending immigration case, I have not been able to return to Afghanistan since 2012. Everything from the creation of CTI to leading it now has been done online. Technology is allowing me to make a bigger impact in gender inequities in my home country from 6,500 miles away.

Creating and leading the first coding school for females in a nonpermissive country from the opposite side of the world has been the most rewarding leadership opportunity in my lifetime. As the founder and only administrative employee, I’ve been engaged at every level from hiring staff and recruiting students to building curriculum and mentoring students. I’ve had the honor of working with all of CTI’s 250 students.

My favorite leadership roles have been centered around game/app development focused on innovative ways to positively influence social impact issues. One of the projects I led, the Afghan Hero Girl game, had more impact than any of us imagined after going viral in Afghanistan. Like many of the projects I lead, this game‘s goal was to change the perspective towards women. Never having a superhero look like us, my students set out to create one. We created a strong, confident female character wearing a hijab. She is tasked with saving her kidnapped family. Afghan Hero Girl was downloaded thousands of times. The feedback was telling: little girls wanted to be the Hero Girl, people were amazed the developers were women and males were even enjoying the game. Perspectives towards women were changed.

In a sense, CTI’s teaching method is one of the oldest in existence. Mentorship and seminars are tried and true methods of community learning. We feel no real push to be innovative in our teaching methodology. Our area of expertise is in applying this methodology in non-permissive environments and in constructing real connection with the communities we serve.

We will take credit for being innovative, in that CTI was the first coding school for females in Afghanistan and that we are laying groundwork for a much larger structure, both as a school and as a social movement.  What appears on the surface to be a school is in fact an undermining attack on systems that have only ever known the exploitation of women. Culture can only be changed from within, and a generation of girls in Herat have already been implanted in their communities, where their examples inspire others and result in the increased demand for our service year after year.

Most of all though, we are disruptive. We challenge the cultural norms that act as barriers for young women who seek advancement and independence in life. These barriers can be social, and they can be violent, but they have taught us how to build our organization’s resilience and have forged our perseverance

There are several other coding schools in Afghanistan but these schools differ from CTI in that they are short-term/coding camps, coed, cost money and/or do not offer job placement services after graduation.

The cultural attitude towards the education of women across the developing world presents a major obstacle to the advancement of human rights. The techniques being developed/deployed by CTI form a blueprint that can be applied to education in any non-permissive environment. While the direct impact of our work is limited in geography, the knowledge we glean is universal and a powerful tool for humanity at large.

CTI’s primary activities are teaching code and technology skills in a safe, single gender classroom then providing support in securing employment.

Immediate outputs are simple: female students acquire high demand skills, develop a higher level of self-agency and secure employment. To date, 200+ students have received education from CTI. Of these students, 60% have found work in their communities and 20% have founded their own tech ventures.

Intermediate outcomes: women are becoming financially independent and proving their financial worth to their family, allowing the men to shift their attitude on women’s value.

Our long-term impact reduces gender bias and adds to the national economy. Women who have been empowered with access/skills relevant to the global economy have far-reaching effects. Simply earning their way in cultures that have only known women to be subservient is a powerful statement of change. The link between increased education and decreased violence against women has long been recognized. CTI is taking the critical first step toward a generational shift in attitude benefitting women across the entire culture. Success at the ground level can be built into extensive improvements in the quality of life and human rights of all people across the developing world.

Our present numbers are far too small to have an impact on national statistics plus measurable metrics of the social impact of this are hard to come by with any reliability. However, as we expand our reach and resource base, we plan to conduct community/nationwide surveys that will provide insight into the cultural outlook towards women’s education and let us accurately track the changes that take place. This effort will illustrate the wide-ranging transformative effect of incremental improvements in women’s independence and well-being.

CTI’s Herat school currently has the capacity to serve 100 girls and women a year. We will see small growth in a year as we increase our infrastructure for significant growth the following years. During the next five years, our plan is to incrementally grow this campus to a capacity of 400, and open campuses in two other locations in Afghanistan for a total capacity of 1000 students in Afghanistan.

Our students represent a small fraction of people impacted by their education. The impact trickles down to their family and eventually impacts their communities, the nation and the world.

CTI’s goal within the next year or so is to strengthen our infrastructure to prepare for growth over the next five years. Our aim at our primary location in Herat is to expand to meet growing demand. We additionally plan to open two new schools in Afghanistan during which we can apply our hard-won lessons in non-permissive education and test new approaches to the problem of social resistance. While we have built a solid framework in this department, testing and refining it is still a major focus.

As we are increasing the number of students, we will also be strengthening CTI’s job placement program by expanding our partnership base with technology employers locally and abroad.

Women in conflict zones and male-dominated cultures face many obstacles as they struggle to gain access to education and the employment opportunities necessary to create a better life for themselves and their families. As CTI strives to removes these obstructions, we have found these to be the greatest barriers to our expansion:

FINANCIAL: Families cannot afford to pay for their daughters’ schooling, internet or other supplies thus CTI is solely dependent on outside funding. The war-torn economy is poor and job opportunities are limited, especially for women.

SECURITY: Extremists are a constant threat to women working towards independence/equal rights.

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Continual conflict reduces available infrastructure/system reliability. Electricity is not consistent and access to the internet in rural and poor communities remains limited. Lack of transportation systems limits job opportunity and prospects to those within walking distance of their employer.

CULTURAL BIASES: Females in Afghanistan are discouraged from contributing to their community, socially, economically, or politically because of their gender. These biases begin in the home. Many families believe girls should stay home and not pursue education/employment; instead women are expected to bear the brunt of childcare and other unpaid domestic responsibilities. They lack safe places outside the home to learn, work or access the internet without verbal and physical harassment from men. The tech sector specifically is especially difficult for Afghan women to enter due to a strong misconception that only men can pursue computer science and technical studies.

FINANCIAL: Since most girls and women in Afghanistan cannot afford education, CTI offers free tuition to every student. We also supply all the supplies and equipment needed at no cost.  One component of CTI’s sustainability plan is to recruit a percentage of students who can afford to pay for some or all of the tuition. By teaching skills in high demand globally, graduates can find employment on the global market when local jobs are not available.

SECURITY: CTI employs a security team and equipment to ensure the safety of our students.

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Infrastructure Access: Our campus has generators for electricity backup and internet access. The technology skills we are teaching allow women to work from their home, eliminating the need for transportation.

CULTURAL BIASES: Working from home also prevents sexual harassment in public spaces and allows the women to meet any domestic expectations. CTI connects students with paid employment during the school year. This glimpse of income has proven to be very influential in changing the attitude of the men in their family to women working. This blessing of brothers and husbands in the community has been a key factor in our success, and the cultural movement is slowly but surely picking up steam, as evidenced by the increase in applicants each year. The misconception that only men can pursue computer science and technical studies is also diminishing as more girls and women attend CTI.

We currently partner with Google, Unity Gaming and Coursera for Refugees. They provide guidance and funding support to our organization while providing employment opportunities and mentorships to our students.

KEY RESOURCES

Funding
People
Computer Equipment, Software, Supplies & Furniture
Building
Electricity & Internet
 
PARTNERS & KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Girls & Women from our Community
Tech Companies
Growth Advisors
 
KEY ACTIVITIES
Recruitment
Teaching
Job Placement
Building Relationships/Partnerships
Marketing
 
TYPE OF INTERVENTION
NGO Educational and Job Placement Service
 
CHANNELS
Word of Mouth
Social Media
Presentations
 
SEGMENTS
Girls, Women & Families
Tech Industry
Employers
Communities/Nations
 
CUSTOMER
Girls, Women & Families
Tech Industry
Human Rights Activists
Governments & Foundations
 
VALUE PROPOSITION
Education
Employment with quality pay
Financial Stability/Independence
Improved Economy
Gender Equity
 
Our present numbers are far too small to have an impact on national statistics plus measurable metrics of the social impact of this are hard to come by with any reliability. However, as we expand our reach and resource base, we plan to conduct community/nationwide surveys that will provide insight into the cultural outlook towards women’s education and let us accurately track the changes that take place.
 
COST STRUCTURE
Staff
School Building
Infrastructure (internet, utilities and equipment)
 
These are CTI’s major expenses. The increased expenses that occur during growth within a locality is primary the cost of additional teachers and equipment. As we add new markets we will need additional staff, buildings and equipment.
 
SURPLUS
Surplus of funds will be invested directly back into our mission through expansion of services, endowment and/or 6-12 months reserve account. 
 
REVENUE
20% Individual Donations & Events
30% Grants
20% Corporate Giving
30% Crowdfunding campaigns

While we are still at the beginning stages of our solution and are relying on grants and other donations, our long term strategy expands beyond this model to include revenue resources traditional post-secondary education institutions rely on for sustainability: endowments, earned income and graduate support. While the earned income component could be implemented to support more immediate funding needs, it will take time to raise funds for an endowment and build a solid base of graduates who have attained the financial security needed to become CTI donors.

Based upon our donation history, we are confident we can continue raising the funds needed to support our current capacity with slow incremental growth as we accumulate these resources. We are actively seeking guidance on how CTI can bring it to scale in a timeline that reflects the urgency of the need.

We try to diversify our fundraising efforts and channels as much as we can. Here are some highlights for the past 12 months: 

$40,000 Online Fundraiser
$37,000 In person Fundraising events
$35,000 Blossom Hill Foundation Grant
$23,000 Corporate matching

We are planning to have a virtual fundraiser event early September to raise about $30,000 along with our year-end fundraising campaign ( December) using our Network For Good platform to raise about another $40,000. We also applied for the Yidan Prize grant and will hear about it early September.

Our annual estimated budget for 2020 is around $120,000. About 75% of the fund  goes to our coding school in Herat, Afghanistan for paying the expenses such as ( Personnel salaries, rent, Internet, utilities, upgrading hardware such as laptops and gaming and graphic design  gears and tablets, unexpected expenses like generators and fuel due to the extreme weather conditions, printing materials for students, snacks and travel expenses). The only expense we have in NYC is the salary of our Executive Director with the organization legal filings.