Tonight, Andeisha Farid, the visionary Afghan who founded AFCECO and established the first AFCECO orphanage when she was a youngster herself (20 years old!), will be one of six women to receive a Vital Voices Global Leadership award. The other recipients are Panmela Castro (Brazil), Afnan Al Zayani (Bahrain), Melinda Gates (USA), Rebecca Lolosoli (Kenya) and Roshaneh Zafar (Pakistan).
Many of us who are AFCECO sponsors know Andeisha personally and have witnessed her tireless work on behalf of a new generation of Afghan children. In amongst the hundreds of tasks requiring her attention each day, she still finds time to respond to our emails and build bonds of friendship. We know how richly she deserves this recognition.
We also know she couldn’t have accomplished so much without the unflagging support of her husband, Jamshid, and the others who work each day in the orphanages in Kabul, Jalalabad, Pakistan and – soon – in Herat. Congratulations and thanks to all of you.
We, as sponsors, can take pride in this award, too. It is wonderful to be a small part of such an important venture, one which is at once visionary and practical.