NEWS
Letter from Nooristan Foundation President: 2011 Update & Progress
Dear Friends:
I want to thank you for supporting the Nooristan Foundation and to update you on what we have been doing during 2011. I know the news from Afghanistan tends to paint a bleak picture, mainly oriented toward the fighting and the country’s internal problems. Happily, all is not bleak. Progress in a country savaged by thirty years of war cannot be spectacular, but it is real if under-reported. Since 2001, there are eight times as many children attending school and a third are girls. There is much improved health care. There are many more miles of paved road; and even some industry. We should keep these positive developments in mind and not just dwell on the negatives. The Nooristan Foundation, in its modest way, is contributing to Afghanistan’s progress.
In the refugee camp at Bagh-e-Daoud, the women, the older girls and the children that we have been helping the past three years have, thanks to your support, come a long way from the despair I felt when I visited there in 2007. Initially, we distributed blankets, plastic sheeting, lentils, and fuel to tide the families through the harsh winter. More recently, we established literacy classes for more than 100 women and older girls and enabled 70 children to attend school, providing uniforms and school bags. After learning to read and write, the women asked us to help them acquire skills needed to earn a living for their families, freeing them from poverty. When I was back in Bagh-e-Daoud this January, the women were so proud of their achievements. We are now teaching them job skills such as sewing, poultry raising and carpentry.We will next help them to market the products that they are producing. Since they have become literate, the women feel empowered. Hope has replaced despair. They know that there are families in America who care for them, and this means a lot. I invite you to view the new video and picture gallery on our website to see the progress that has been made.
Because education is so important for the future of Afghanistan, we have decided to support a new program in Kandahar which will train 30 women to become teachers. Only 15% of teachers in Kandahar have had any professional training. Mrs. Sakeena Yacoobi, a Nobel prize nominee for her work in education for women, is supervising this program. Our small village school in Nooristan Province is experiencing some problems due to the substantial Taliban presence there. For the moment, we have had to put this project on hold. We are, nevertheless, pleased that we were able to provide professional training for 7 teachers from Nooristan this March. We also are continuing to explore possibility of establishing a midwife training program for village women from Logar Province.
As we look to Afghanistan’s future, it is so important that we Americans continue to show our support for Afghan women and children. Small private assistance programs, like those of the Nooristan Foundation, reach people in a meaningful way. We are deeply grateful for all your generous help and do hope that you will continue your support.
GREAT NEWS: The French Embassy has kindly agreed to help us once more by hosting our “Evening of Hope for Afghanistan” on May 18, 2012. Save the date!!
Thank you kindly,
Marie Kux
President
