Sewing Machines for Afghan Women
THANK YOU!
Over $4100 was raised in just over 3 days to help purchase sewing machines, irons and working capital as part of Nooristan Foundation’s ‘Sewing Machines For Afghan Women’ Campaign!
Now 80 women’s dreams of becoming business owners is a reality! To view the video of the graduates receiving their certificates of completion, sewing machines, irons and working capital - and to hear them thank you for your support - visit our Instagram page.
The Nooristan Foundation’s ‘Encourage An Entrepreneur’ is a one year program that provides sewing skills for Afghan women, as well as assistance in starting their own small business. Since 2020, the program has provided training and business launch assistance to 80 women.
These women are either in the age range of 17-22 and were not allowed to pursue further education due to family restrictions or 30-55 years of age who are widows or married to disabled men and must provide for their families. The program not only gives them gives them skills, but a community of support and sustainable livelihoods so they can move from #AidToTrade
12 Month Program Includes:
Sewing + Tailoring Training
Numeracy Training
Purchase of Sewing Machines For Graduates
Connecting Graduates + Providing Support- ie. Identifying Local Market Opportunities and Manufacturing/Production Contracts
Identifying International Markets For Handmade Goods Made By Graduates and Local Network of Women
Nooristan Foundation has been supporting vocational training for women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan since 2007. The organization had partnered with PARSA, a charitable organization that had worked in Afghanistan since the early ’90s, to support the training of women in Kabul and Bamiyan who were starting vegetable and fruit processing businesses. The program was highly successful and helped many of the women start their own sustainable businesses.
From 2015-2019, the Foundation program focused on its EmPower a Village program. With a new Board of Directors and partnership with a capable local women-led nonprofit organization, the Foundation is now able to support the EnCourage an Entrepreneur program.
The program has provided skills training for 20 women in Kabul since February 2020. These women are either in the age range of 17-22 and were not allowed to pursue further education due to family restrictions or 30-55 who are widows or married to disabled men and must provide for their families. In addition to learning sewing skills, the women have been receiving basic literacy and numeracy training.
Strategy for Success
During the program, the women will work together in a cooperative to produce various products for sale in the local market. They will be given training on production, quality control, and marketing. In the last 2 months of the project, they will be given three choices for their future:
Continue to develop products working in the cooperative, which will be managed by the local NGO
Be introduced and seek employment as a seamstress or producer for a local or international company located in Afghanistan
Establish her own small business and be an entrepreneur
After successful completion of the program, the women will be given certificates from the program sponsors, a profile of each woman will be drafted so that information on their experience, skills, and photos of samples of their work can be shared with other organizations and/or companies. If a woman chooses to be an entrepreneur, the program will provide her with a sewing machine, funds for materials, and a gift, valued at approximately $250 USD, to get started.
Monitoring
A signature of Nooristan Foundation programming is to select a capable local organization to implement projects. This allows for local organizations to increase capacity and utilizes donor funds much more effectively as it reduces overhead costs. However, NF requires each organization to agree to 3 monitoring of implementation and oversight of the expenditure of funds.
This is done through an independent organization, which sends a representative for site visits to collect information regarding program efficacy. The local organization is also required to take receipts for all supplies purchased, reports with signatures and/or thumbprints from the program recipients for each time the stipend is allocated, and from the teacher and cleaner for their salaries. In this way, NF can focus on program quality and raising donor funds, and connecting mentors, putting the safeguards in place to ensure donor funds are being spent not just for the purpose intended, but are being utilized in an efficient manner.
For program monitoring of EnCourage an Entrepreneur, NF has partnered with The Ghafoor Foundation, a local philanthropic organization. Further information on the organization can be found at www.ghafoorfoundation.org.
Costs + Budget
The start-up costs for the program were only about $860 USD. For the first six months, the women were given a stipend of 1,000 Afs/month which is only about $13 USD. It was increased to $1,500 Afs/month which is about $20/month. This provides them with money for groceries for their family. The goal is to not make them dependent on the program stipend but to motivate them to learn skills and graduate so that they can achieve a higher income after leaving the program.
Support
You can support EnCourage an Entrepreneur by:
Donate: You or your company can donate funds on a one-time basis or monthly basis as a Mentor to the program. You can also donate funds towards equipment and supplies for new classes to be added. You can donate through the following ways:
Zelle ID: nooristanfoundationorg@gmail.com
Venmo ID: @Nooristan-Foundation
Bank Account: Bank of America Virginia Checking Account 4350 0629 6593 (if you make a donation at the bank, you will be required to deposit a check or money order)
Check by Mail: Mail your donation check to Nooristan Foundation c/o Prime Counsel, PLLC 1765 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 900, McLean, VA 22102.
You will receive a receipt by January of the following year for donations that you made in the prior tax year for your tax reporting purposes.
Mentor: You can be a Mentor if you can donate on a monthly basis of at least $100/month. Mentors can receive a monthly video message via WhatsApp from the student and can send the student monthly messages of encouragement.
EnCourage: If you don’t have funds to donate, you can encourage others to donate or volunteer to share information about the program. If you would like to do this regularly by donating at least one hour a week to engage in outreach through social media, emails, and/or contacting media, you can be listed on the website as a Program Outreach Volunteer.