Afghan Institute of Learning; Educating & Empowering

"My vision for Afghanistan is one of a country with peace & equality. Where children are not in the streets begging to feed their families, but instead safe and happily enjoying school. Where young men and women are not victims of violence, child labor, early child marriage; instead working towards an independent and successful life & thriving through education. A country where parents can encourage their children to learn and grow up to be what and who they want, not a life that is forced upon them due to generations of hate, violence, discrimination, poverty, and war. I know that if given the proper means, tremendous change can happen for the people we serve through AIL." -Dr.Yacoobi 

The prize would help AIL and Dr. Yacoobi to bring quality education, health care, and health education to millions more women and youth in Afghanistan.  In addition, it would be very helpful to have support via more computers, internet service, smartphones, and other technologies (as well as technical training) to help us adapt our education programs to modern methods. 

As a young girl being raised in Afghanistan, I witnessed all of the struggles and sorrows in my own family’s life. My mother gave birth to 16 children, only 5 are alive today. She suffered loss due to little or no access to quality healthcare, medicine, or proper nutrition for her children. My father worked endless hours even days, away from home, leaving his wife and children,  just to be able to make ends meet and put food on our table; because no one told him education could change his quality of life. I was always grateful that our life was better than most around us, but I also knew it wasn’t fair. From a young age, I had this idea of what I wanted to do for the people of Afghanistan; to prove that change was possible through education, effort, kindness, peace, and love.

AIL's goal is to reach more provinces within Afghanistan & establish a new women's university; to continue providing whole education to all Afghans changing one community at a time. We hope to empower the next generation to hold high positions in sectors of Afghanistan where they can raise the country out of war & poverty. 

Poverty, forced marriage, early child marriage, child labor, violence, gender inequality, access to education...

All the work AIL does is with the intention to break the cycle of corruption in Afghanistan. Through equal access to quality education, we transform young minds to embrace peace and love. We empower women to create their own future, rather than submit to a life their society will choose for them. We teach women the skills and subjects to pursue careers, be independent, create a sustainable life, creating generational change. We have reached 14.5 million Afghans in the last 25 years, that were suffering the effects of a war-torn country and a corrupt government. Many people have been left behind, as war and poverty have left most citizens without necessary education and job training needed to sustain their livelihoods

AIL works at the grassroots levels with the people in Afghanistan, to not only give an equal opportunity to education for women, men and children; also instill the importance of peace and gender equality, & empowering the youth over the last 25 years. Through education, improving the quality of life for Afghans is the best way to help transform the country as a whole.

AIL uses an innovative approach to all projects, adapting to any change within society or communities surrounding its project. Our staff has created unique models within their education and health care centers to effectively bring change to the people. In education, our teachers do not breeze through a curriculum, because it’s on their to-do list. Teachers mindfully design their curriculum to be relatable, comprehensive to the level of ability their students have and to inspire and engage students. This was very visible during COVID when our staff created a first-of-its-kind, distance education program. With hands-on activities, workshop tasks to complete, presentations, policies, and debates held by students, we try to place the youth in a position others their age are facing around the world-- to relate to current events and use critical thinking on how to address these matters through kindness, peace, equality, and education for a more globally desired outcome than what we see from the current state of the world. AIL is disrupting decades cycles of oppression & inequality; creating a cultural shift. Young men & women are being empowered with the necessary skills to become the generation that will transform Afghanistan.

My approach to overcoming challenges will always be communication and education. AIL holds several workshops and conferences within communities. The reason these are important to regularly hold for the people in the community is to set a new standard of normal for the Afghan people, this is part of transforming the way people think. AIL wants education to be welcomed within communities it serves to be appreciated by members of the community who maybe once objected to the idea of education for all. We will continue to teach Afghanistan's society that overall health contributes to a way of life, education, peace, equality, love, kindness, success, and happiness-- these factors are what determine the quality of life they live. Afghans have accepted their individual responsibility as change-makers and are willingly working together to restore Afghanistan to a land of peace, equality, and harmony. At its core, our work is bringing balance and harmony to people’s lives. It’s what we see every day in the community centers: women and girls, men and boys, the entire community transformed in the way they see themselves, their roles in society, and their potential as a people to progress towards higher goals and quality of life.