Hope for Afghan Children

Hear Menizha, Pashtana and Sahar speak

Published on February 16, 2011 by hfac in Blog, Fundraising

In 2010, a group of older girls from the AFCECO orphanages in Kabul, Afghanistan, participated in a leadership class. Three of the participants, Menizha, Pashtana and Sahar, were selected to come to the USA for three months at the conclusion of that class. The girls have been staying with host families learning about American life, and giving presentations to schools (including a huge class of cadets at West Point), community organizations and private gatherings across the country.

These young women are the embodiment of hope for Afghanistan. They are smart, thoughtful, willing to share and, above all, absolutely committed to making Afghanistan a better place for all.

Pashtana and Ian Pounds, the AFCECO Education Director, will speak at all these events, and Menizha and Sahar will join them for the presentations in Washington and New York.

Speaking schedule

February 24: Stanford University 12 noon lunch presentation with Student Moslem League
February 24: Channing House, Palo Alto, CA 7:00 pm fundraiser.
February 26: The Sequoias, Palo Alto, CA 9:30 am fundraiser.
February 27: Private home in Sacramento, CA area, fundraiser/pot luck, email Ian Pounds for information.
March 2: Presentation at University of California, Berkeley. 6:30 pm location to be announced
March 3: Presentation at California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco 7:00 pm
March 5: Presentation, fundraiser at the JCCSF Gallanter Hall 2300 California St, San Francisco 1:00 pm
March 8: Fundraiser, private home in Seattle, WA 6:00 pm email Ian Pounds for information.
March 10: Presentation in Burk County, PA Chamber of Commerce.
March 14: Fundraiser /presentation at Busboys and Poets, Washington D.C. 6:30 pm (see below for more details on this event).
March 15: Presentation to Higher Achievement students, Washington D.C. area 6:30 pm
March 21: Fundraiser in New York City at Ceremonial Hall, New York Society for Ethical Culture, 6:00 pm

Washington event

If you live anywhere near the Washington, D.C. area, Sahar, Pashtana and Menizha will speak at a special fundraiser. Together with Ian Pounds, the American volunteer educational director for AFCECO, they will be giving a presentation on:

Monday, March 14th, 6.30pm
Busboys and Poets at 5th & K
1025 5th Street, NW

The D.C. event will be one of the last chances to hear the girls speak. As one who has already had this experience, I can guarantee that you do not want to miss this opportunity. It will touch you and inform you in ways hard to imagine.

Click the image to see a full-size flyer – and please feel free to distribute it, and the rest of the speaking tour dates, far and wide.

Fundraiser at the JCCSF Gallanter Hall 2300 California St, San Francisco 1:00 pm

Fundraiser for Razia’s Ray of Hope

Published on September 21, 2010 by hfac in Blog

Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and children in Afghanistan through community-based education. It was founded by an Afghan woman, Razia Jan, and its key project is the Zabuli Education Center, which provides free education for girls in the village of Deh’Subz, outside of Kabul.

On October 7th, the foundation is holding a fundraiser in Boston. The proceeds will go towards an endowment fund to keep their school going year after year, instead of searching every year for money.

If you’re in the Boston area, this is a wonderful opportunity to support another organization which is helping to empower girls and women in Afghanistan. You can register for the event and read more on the Razia’s Ray of Hope website.

Andeisha Farid’s family targeted

Published on August 9, 2010 by hfac in Afceco people, Blog, Security

As many of you will have heard through the email grapevine, yesterday soldiers raided the family home of Andeisha Farid, the director of the AFCECO orphanages, and took her father and brother away at gunpoint. Andeisha’s email alerting us to this sparked action by her many supporters and friends in Afghanistan and around the world.

The good news is her father and brother were released yesterday evening (US time) and they are now safe. Sadly, her mother was hospitalized after going into shock, and the children are traumatized. It has been a terrible time for all our friends working and living in the orphanages and for Andeisha’s entire family. We send our love, best wishes and commitment to ongoing support to all of them.

Due to the delicate security situation, we won’t go into the details of what happened unless we get the go ahead from AFCECO. But thanks go to everyone who helped, by emailing and phoning government departments, by activating military channels, by alerting AFCECO’s friends in the media, by spreading the word, and by making themselves available to act. In Andeisha’s own words:

	I and my family wish to thank you for the immense outpouring of sympathy and action that took place immediately upon your hearing of the assault on my family. My father and brother are safely home now. They were released last evening. Every one of us in my family and at AFCECO wish to express once again our appreciation of the deep bond of love and common purpose we have with the American people and all Westerners we have come to know. In the present war, it is important to gather information, to follow leads, to do what is possible to prevent the spread of terror, but this method of terrorizing in order to fight terror is the quickest way to lose that battle. My family is fortunate. Thousands of average citizens endure such over the top, go get them methods, innocent people who may be detained for days, weeks, or even killed. It is important to know this was not an accident or a simple one-time mistake. As we prepare the children for their Afghanistan Independence Day party, we reinforce all that is good in the strive for a peaceful and free Afghanistan. We will give light to what is hopeful, what is alive in the hearts of these children. Thanks again for your sympathy. Best wishes, Andeisha

April and May newsletters online (finally!)

Published on May 11, 2010 by hfac in Blog

My apologies for the delay in getting the April and May orphanage newsletters online. They are so full of exciting news about the goings on at the orphanages. If you haven’t had a chance to read them yet, I encourage you to take the time to do so now – it’ll make you feel good all over again about being involved with this remarkable organization and these wonderful children.

I hope you’ve also been keeping up with Ian Pounds’ diary of his experiences as a volunteer in the orphanages. Ian updates his Kabul Journal each week – it usually shows up sometime on Saturday in the USA. Keep your eye out for it and feel free to respond to Ian by adding a comment to any of his posts.

Daily life in the AFCECO orphanages in Kabul

Published on March 22, 2010 by hfac in Blog

In 2009, Ian Pounds spent five months living and working as a volunteer in Mehan Orphanage in Kabul. It is an experience which affected him deeply. Those of us who followed his weekly journal were moved, educated and inspired. We came away with a much richer understanding of the workings of the orphanages and the world of our sponsored children.

Now, Ian is back in Afghanistan, once again volunteering with AFCECO at the Kabul orphanages. He will continue his journal and we will feature his posts here on Hope for Afghan Children.

I hope you will join those of us who already make it a habit to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee each weekend while we read Ian’s latest installment.

Page 5 of 8« First «...3 456 7...»Last »