Projects in Afghanistan

All of our projects are focused on education, specifically to increase the access and quality of education for Afghan women and girls. Examples of activities of our programs include: paying salaries for teachers at a number of community schools, paying for teacher trainers, setting up education resources such as a virtual library, community libraries or women's resource centres; as well as running educational programmes such as English, computer and literacy classes. We also cover the costs of monthly rental expenses and salaries for staff to operate a small orphanage in Kabul for 21 young girls. This project will include scholarships for these young Afghan women as they reach post-secondary school age. CW4WAfghan imports hand-crafted Afghan products for sale at our community events here in Canada (see web site link: shop and support). This is a non-profit initiative that provides educational opportunities to previously unemployed and unskilled Afghan women. Sale proceeds are directed to Afghan artisans and the programs in which they are employed.

A number of schools, classes and education-related programs are undertaken with the help of local Afghan organizations or individuals. Since 1996, CW4WAfghan has continually worked toward a mutual relationship of trust and accountability with non-profit Afghan organizations with programmes designed by or for Afghan women. This is done through establishing thorough reporting, monitoring and evaluation procedures. Please view the specific partner files on this web site for further details on our projects.

Our organization selects beneficiaries particularly Afghan women and children in under-served areas who will benefit most directly from our support. We carefully select those Afghan organizations or individuals who have the proven reputation, expertise and experience to carry out our projects.

To assist with running our programs, we have established a small office in Kabul managed by an Afghan under contract with CW4WAfghan as our Programs Coordinator. Our volunteer members in Canada travel to Afghanistan when possible (when security allows and funding is available) to further strengthen, evaluate and monitor our projects. Our Canadian Project Committee also oversees all management of the projects and communication via email, teleconference and mail in conjunction with our Kabul office. This committee is made up of skilled volunteers, many having direct experience in international development in Afghanistan. The Committee reviews regular project reports, and meets several times throughout the year for our program planning, monitoring and evaluation. They oversee the formal written contracts with our implementing partner organizations which outline the terms of the project, the work plans and budgets, as well as specific roles and responsibilities and reporting requirements.

Our program activities meet the charitable requirements of Canada Revenue Agency in line with our approved purposes: "advancing education and educational opportunities for Afghan women and girls.