Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Purpose of Breaking Bread?

The overall purpose of Breaking Bread is to raise funds to help pay salaries for Afghan teachers and contribute to an overall higher quality education for Afghan women and girls. Breaking Bread also serves to empower Canadians, as global citizens, to be actively involved in advancing basic human rights for women and girls.

How can I be sure that my donation is safely invested given the insecurity throughout the country?

Many of the teachers funded by Breaking Bread are working in small, community schools, often located in remote areas with little access to funding from the Afghan Ministry of Education or other sources. We work directly with small, grassroots women’s organizations (we call them our Afghan partner organizations) who run these schools or hire teachers for literacy, English, computer and other specific education programmes that benefit Afghan women and children. We have been working with these women's organizations in Afghanistan and in Pakistan since 1996. The women involved have shown themselves to be honest, courageous, and resourceful in aiding Afghan women during very dangerous turbulent periods throughout history. They have given the time and attention to building strong relationships within their own communities, which means a higher level of security and support. And they continue to be the best source of knowledge and expertise in how best to meet the needs of Afghan women and girls within their own communities. They have struggled against overwhelming odds to establish these viable and sustainable programmes in education and fostering a growing civil society in Afghanistan. We are very proud for the opportunity to support their work.

How do we ensure our Breaking Bread donations go towards teachers to advance human rights for women and children in Afghanistan?

All of the funds from Breaking Bread dinners and events held in Canada (100%) are remitted to pay the salary of teachers and beginning in January 2009, funds will also support teacher training, librarians and library resources as well as other educational materials and resources. It is important that our beneficiaries are both paid for their teaching and also learn improved teaching methods and have resources for their classrooms. Our Afghan partners submit an annual proposal and budget on the funds required to carry out their work. Once our CW4WAfghan Project Committee has approved the proposal and budget, we prepare a Contract that clearly stipulates the total funds being provided, the dates of the funding and other important safeguards to ensure the funds are used as intended. We advance the funds directly from our bank account in Calgary to our partner’s bank account in Afghanistan. Upon completion of the term of the contract, our partners will submit a narrative report and a final financial report documenting how the funds were spent. At that time we will submit the final advance of funds and await a new proposal and budget for the next term. Our staff person in Kabul will also monitor and evaluate the projects and reports to our Project Management Team on a regular basis on all projects.

Are the schools and literacy projects monitored and evaluated?

Yes, we have regular monitoring and evaluations undertaken of the various schools and projects. Whenever possible, our CW4WAfghan Canadian volunteers and our local Project Coordinator in Kabul keep in close contact with our Afghan partners and schools to ensure the best use of our Breaking Bread fundraising.

If the $75 is a prohibitive amount for donations, can I still host a pot-luck dinner?

Yes, please do host a dinner or event to support Breaking Bread! The $75 donation was a suggestion for ten guests. Each Breaking Bread dinner or event strives to raise $750, the approximate salary for one teacher in Afghanistan for one year. We do understand that this $75 amount is not manageable for all donors, however, we encourage and welcome everyone to get involved. We will accept all donations, but require a minimum contribution of $30 to issue a tax receipt. There have been some very creative events in addition to the pot luck dinners hosted for Breaking Bread over the many years, including birthday parties, school events, swim meets, large public events and much more.

Why is the fundraising goal based on an average Teacher’s Salary of $750?

CW4WAfghan set the figure of $750 as a fundraising target for Breaking Bread. This amount was based on the average teacher salary in June 2002 at the beginning of this fundraising programme. Please note, that we do not require the Afghan teachers be paid exactly this $750 amount, rather they are paid a salary set by our Afghan partners. The actual salary paid is based on the funds available and the local regional conditions and regulations. An average salary of the teachers being paid under Breaking Bread project over the past six years ranges from approximately $25 to $350 per month. While the Afghan Ministry of Education (MoE) is setting a target base salary of an average of $120 per month for teachers, most of the small schools and programmes we work with are not yet benefiting from the public education funding.

The Ministry of Education is continuously working to establish standard curriculum and wherever possible, CW4WAfghan works closely with them to ensure collaboration and adherence to local policies and procedures. Please note, this fundraising iniative is not managed as a specific teacher sponsorship as sponsorship programmes rely heavily on administrative time and resources from both our volunteers here in Canada, and our Afghan partners. Rather, funds raised under Breaking Bread are used to support the ongoing education iniatives in Afghanistan that include teacher's salaries, librarian salaries, teacher training and education resources. This is where your donations can have the most impact to provide access to and quality education for Afghan women and girls.

Can I receive a tax receipt?

CW4WAfghan is registered charity (887718203RR001). Tax receipts will be issued for donations $30 and above. Please make cheques payable to CW4WAfghan. Our financial statements are audited annually and we adhere to set by-laws and other best practices and procedures for non-profit organizations.

Is there any time limit for the Pot Lucks? Can I do mine later this year or next?

There is no fixed termination date for this project. The pot-luck dinner fundraising has become an ongoing process and people hold Pot Lucks all through the year, winter, spring, summer, and fall ---- year after year. They are a lot of fun, easy to pull together, and the funds generated by them are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Afghan women and girls --- providing them with hope and opportunity which was denied to them before.

As we are operating as volunteers on a zero budget, we are relying on word of mouth, list serves, and media stories to spread the word. Breaking Bread started in 2002 and each year more and more Canadians learn about the project and become involved. Our goal is to ensure that women's groups dedicated to educating Afghan girls get the funds they need, for teacher training and to hire more teachers for women and their families. It's a huge job since the female illiteracy rate in rural Afghanistan is over 90% ---- one of the worst in the world.

The success of our Canadian support to Afghanistan relies on our long-term and sustainable commitment to the Afghan people. Please consider hosting an event on an annual basis!

For further information, please call 403 244-5625 or email BreakingBread@CW4WAfghan.ca