Sometimes, I find no words to express my cordial thanks to all of you and for what you are doing for our children and orphanages. I am truly inspired and encouraged by your great support. You have changed the life of a generation of Afghan children who will remember you forever, and who will change Afghanistan’s future not with gun and force but with love and respect they have learnt in the orphanages. – Andeisha, Director AFCECO Orphanages
Faced with a country like Afghanistan – poverty-stricken and reeling from 30 years of war and repression – it’s all too easy to throw up one’s hands and think “What can be done?” The truth is, a simple act can make a meaningful difference.
Sponsoring a child through AFCECO is such a potent act. It is an act of caring, of joy, of interconnection, of empowerment. And anyone who has sponsored a child through AFCECO knows that the benefits are entirely mutual.
Our sponsored children get to be housed, fed, kept safe and educated. They get to grow up with people dedicated to giving them the best future possible. They get to communicate with someone from another part of the world who has an interest in their welfare, who cares about their future and the future of their country. They have the chance to contribute to the rebuilding of their nation.
As a sponsor, you get to build a relationship with a young person full of potential. To learn about a country and a culture with deep roots and a fascinating history. To share your knowledge, insights and vision with a young person eager to learn. To pick up a few phrases in Dari or Pashto. And to know that, through a simple, practical act of caring, you are making a difference.
Why Afghanistan matters
This is the solution for a future in Afghanistan. It’s right here. No troops, no cabinet ministers, no United Nations or NGOs or bombs or spies or fundamentalism or checkpoints or laws or billion of dollars. The solution is quiet, patient. It is very spacious. The ceilings are high, the windows wide. There are four floors to it, including a basement with space to dance, or perform a tragedy, serve a feast of bread and rice and chick peas and water, in silence, only the sound of spoons clinking on plates, not heavily, but voluntarily, a contentment filling the room, children serving children, glad to do so, the others sitting on the floor facing one another, an ovoid circle, not unlike the earth. What is there to say when filling oneself with the nourishment of peace? This solution is brewing, and when it is ripe, change will come in a day, maybe even an hour, and not a drop of blood will be spilled. – Ian Pounds, volunteer teacher for AFCECO in Kabul.
Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations in the world. The average income is US68 cents per day. Average life expectancy is 44 years and one out of every five Afghan children dies before her or his fifth birthday, often of a preventable cause. Conservative estimates are that 60% of Afghan children have lost at least one member of their family; over two million are orphans. Less than 15% of Afghan women have any formal education, with almost three-quarters of girls dropping out of school by 5th grade. In rural areas, only 1 in 100 girls attend school.
The past 30 years of war have seen many of our western governments become entangled in Afghanistan’s affairs, sometimes covertly, sometimes overtly. That’s not surprising, given Afghanistan’s highly strategic location. The influence of the Taliban and fundamentalism in Afghanistan, during a period when the US was reeling from the 9/11 attacks and when the US government adopted an aggressive posture towards much of the Muslim world, has created an uneasy link between these two countries. It’s almost certain that the average American, the average westerner, knows more about Afghanistan today than they did before September 11, 2001. It’s also almost certain that the average westerner continues to know almost nothing about Afghanistan.
Afghanistan matters because it is in such dire need. It matters because its stability and future have a bearing on the stability and future of the world. It matters because it is a Muslim nation struggling with fundamentalism. It matters because its people have been deprived for too long of the chance to live a decent, peaceful life.
Why AFCECO?
If I could just show you what is done here, how it is different, how Tajik cares for Pashtun, Pashtun cares for Uzbek, Uzbek cares for Hazara, and Hazara then cares for Pashtun, you’d see much more than the orphanage existing in most minds; you’d see a school, a place of ideas that breathes…a place where that word tossed about so often of late: “hope” truly lives. – Ian Pounds
AFCECO is an Afghan-run, non-profit organization dedicated to working for Afghans. It runs orphanages in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
AFCECO’s aim is to bring up the next generation of Afghan citizens, so badly affected by three decades of war, and to help them grow into strong, productive, thoughtful members of society.
The girls and boys in AFCECO’s orphanages are taught tolerance, respect for diversity, environmental sensitivity, respect for the rights of others, and strong values of integrity, honesty and caring. AFCECO teaches:
- Promote respect for the differences between human beings and an understanding that all human beings don’t have to think alike.
- Respect freedom of thought and avoid imposing one’s ideas on others arbitrarily.
- That freedom has real meaning only with justice and democracy.
- There is no difference between people; no human being is superior to any other because of class, color, language, race, or religion.
- Respect all religions and their followers.
- Understand that religion is a private matter that cannot be forced on anyone else and nobody should be allowed to misuse it for any end, it must be kept separated from politics.
- No human being is better than any other because of gender.
- A culture of peace is not possible if it does not promote conservation of the environment.
- Encourage a respect for the value of life and implement it in their lives.
- Encourage eagerness in understanding the ideas of others.
- Promote the understanding that everyone, regardless of where they live is part of the bigger family that we all belong to.
- Encourage listening to the ideas of others.
- Respect teamwork and focus on the success of common goals.
- Encourage work for world peace and make peace a priority over conflict.
- Promote peace by learning other countries’ cultures, and learn that living in peace and harmony is the only right way for human beings.
The classes I give are above and beyond the children’s regular course of schooling in all the major subjects. Even so, they can’t get enough. On Tuesday morning I taught a group of thirty little ones. Four to seven year olds. After an hour and a half straight learning the alphabet, word groups, a few simple phrases, I dismissed them. They looked up at me from where they sat in a bunch on the floor, pencils poised above their notebooks. They wouldn’t leave. So, I proceeded to review everything we had covered, then I dismissed them again. Eyes staring, mouths agape. They wouldn’t leave. Finally the house parent came to my rescue. The children realized class was over and obediently got up and wandered off to lunch. I do believe I could have taught them for three hours without a single complaint from their ranks. – Ian Pounds
Going further
For many sponsors, sponsoring a child through AFCECO opens up a whole new world. We learn about Afghanistan and learn to care for its people; we come to admire the extraordinary work done by the staff and volunteers in the orphanages; we grow to love our new Afghan families; and we see change happening, one child at a time.
All of this makes us want to do more. This website is one example of that; through it, we hope to provide a new level of interaction for sponsors and a place to explore ways of having an even greater impact on the future of Afghanistan.
AFCECO also provides ways for sponsors to do more. You can sponsor a new orphanage and subsidize its operations. You can purchase something from AFCECO’s Amazon wishlist. You can make a one-time donation to help in the development of AFCECO’s programs.
Hope for Afghan Children will also be running spotlight fundraising campaigns, for small emergency needs and for larger projects. Our current spotlight campaign is to raise $10,000 to print a booklet about the work of AFCECO. Every existing sponsor will receive a copy of this booklet. If you’d like to assist this project, please contact us.
We’re really keen to hear your ideas about furthering the goals of AFCECO. Please join our discussions forums and let us know your thoughts.
CharityHelp’s role
CharityHelp International is a non-profit organization based in Maryland, USA. CharityHelp was established to build financially sustaining relationships between sponsors and recipients, using Internet technology.
CharityHelp provides the essential infrastructure needed to make our AFCECO sponsorships possible. It handles all financial transactions; provides arrangements for sending goods – such as items from AFCECO’s Amazon wishlist – to Afghanistan; and manages email communication between sponsors and children.
CharityHelp is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit; donations to AFCECO through CharityHelp are tax deductible for those in the USA.