Afghan Action Kabul October 2009

October 07, 2009

We‘re working hard to raise funds for our work and, after a tough winter, things are developing well. We have trained 16 young men and women to weave carpets and also to read and write over the past 6 months and a new batch starts in October, with 10 trainees sponsored by Armor Group and 10 through funding received from the Equitable Charitable Trust. The number of trainees will grow in the next few months with several new sponsorships already coming into place. Food for our staff and trainees (50 people) is now being provided by the Supreme Foundation and medicine has been donated by Cape Inc. Armor Group’s doctor, Michael Sizemore, visits our site every week to check the health of our people and, for all the generous assistance we receive from so many people and organisations, we are immensely grateful.

So, our aim is to get 30 trainee places sponsored - and move on to more. We want to open up IT training and English language classes on site - our aim being to equip our young people with the skills they need to take control of their own destinies and be assured of a good future.

We’re also raising money for 10 of our young women trainees to start up in business. The target is £18,000 and we are 2/3rd of the way there.. and just need another £6,000. This will cover their start up and running costs for year one, provide them with space and support in our premises in Kabul and also enable them to develop their business skills. The money they earn will go towards working capital for year 2.

Here in the UK, we’re looking for special orders we can push their way. If you really want to make a difference, design your own carpet - and we’ll ask these women to weave it for you.

FUNDRAISING

We depend so much on the goodwill and generosity of people across the UK who support our work. 17 year old Ettie Shattock is walking the 630 mile coastal path around the south-west of England to raise money for Afghan Action. “I took my final International Baccalaureate exams in May and to start my year off before University I want to raise the money to give someone in Kabul who isn’t as fortunate as I am the chance to learn the trade of carpet weaving and receive lessons in numeracy and literacy..” Sponsor Ettie by sending her donation on www.justgiving.com/Ettie-Shattock.

Michael Howell plans to climb 25 of the Munros in Scotland. The final Munro to be conquered on the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2010 - and raise money to support our work. To sponsor Michael send him a donation on www.justgiving.com/afghan-skills/

These are the real heroes, as are so many of you whose support and encouragement make such a difference.

WORK WITH AFGHAN GROUPS IN LONDON

Our Promotion and Outreach Officer, Yusof Mirzazada, has now been with us 2 years, during which time he has built links with many of people and organisations from London’s Afghan communities and run over 20 conferences and events involving Afghan diaspora groups. The work continues with renewed funding for a further 2 years from the City Parochial Foundation and we have also benefited from funding from Awards for All.

SCHOOLS’ WORK

An enterprising class of 12 and 13 year olds from Wanstead High School have done something fantastic. Following a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, they set about designing their own carpets - and the winning design is now on the loom in Kabul and, when it is ready, will be auctioned at school!

We have other exciting developments with schools around the country. In East Yorkshire, schools are joining our project to raise awareness about Afghanistan. Our inspirational project worker, Jean Harlow, is working with Zia Sorosh, an Afghan student at Hull University and Yvette Fox, East Riding LEA International Development Adviser and the ideas they’re developing are amazing - kite making and carpet weaving among them. Funding comes from the Department for International Development’s minigrants programme.

Schools in Harpenden, Hertfordshire and in Hammersmith in West London are now involved in the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme, building links with schools in Mazar e Sharif and Kabul. We’re hoping this programme will expand and involve some of the other schools we are working with across the country.

INNOVATIVE IT PROGRAMME

One of our most innovative programmes is with a City of London IT company, Tribune Business Systems, working at the cutting edge of “virtualisation”. We’re working with British schools to encourage use of this technology - and our aim is to find a way of making it work in Afghan schools also.

In fact, our conviction is that the future of Afghanistan - desperate as it seems to be at present - is directly related to good jobs, honest businesses and fair markets. Link them with education and healthcare and the likelihood of bottom-up transformation becomes possible. Without these, all military and security efforts will never succeed.