 Professor Sakena Yacoobi President and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) and co founder of CHI. Dr. Yacoobi founded AIL in 1995 to provide teacher training to Afghan women, to support education for boys and girls, and to provide health education to women and children.
Read Professor Sakena Yacoobi's bio... Democratic government and laws that need to be obeyed - that is possible only with education, which will uphold people’s rights and empower them to question and demand a better life.
|
Who We Are__ About the Afghan Institute of Learning
The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) is an Afghan women’s non-governmental organization (NGO) which was founded in 1995 by Dr. Sakena Yacoobi to help address the problem of poor access for Afghan women and children to education and health services, their subsequent inability to support their lives, and the impact of this lack of education and health on Afghan society. AIL is an organization, run by Afghan women, that plays a part in reconstructing education and health systems capable of reaching the women and children of Afghanistan--whether in refugee camps or in their homes in Afghanistan. AIL’s visionary programs have had a major impact on Afghanistan and its people. Between 1996 and September 2011, over millions of Afghans have been direct beneficiaries of AIL education, training and health services. A number of AIL’s visionary programs have been replicated or adopted by the Afghan government and other NGOs. AIL presently has offices in Kabul and Herat, Afghanistan and in Peshawar, Pakistan. AIL serves hundreds of thousands of women and children annually, is run by women and employs 70% women. AIL has offfered preschool through University education, training opportunities to teachers in interactive, critical thinking methodologies and to members of civil society in subjects such as human rights, women’s rights, leadership, and peace, and provides health education and health care through its clinics and Community Health Workers. AIL’s goals are to lay a foundation for quality education and health for years to come and to provide comprehensive education and health services to Afghan women and children, so that they can support and take care of themselves. AIL requires community participation in all of its projects. Believing that the best results are achieved when everyone is integrally involved, AIL works with community leaders in the planning, developing and implementation of all projects. No project is started unless the community has requested it and is involved in it. Utilizing this visionary strategy, communities can contribute 30 to 50 percent of the resources needed for a project. In the case of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), the contribution by the community can be as high as 90% of the cost of the project with AIL providing administrative and teacher training, oversight and a small amount of funding for partial salaries. These community contributions have come in many forms, including volunteer help, assistance with security, and donated space, materials, and supplies. These contributions have strengthened the communities’ involvement in and ownership of AIL programs and are part of ongoing efforts towards achieving sustainability. |
    |
AIL believes that educated people are the key to a future, developed Afghanistan. With that in mind, AIL works to empower all Afghans who are needy and oppressed by expanding their education and health opportunities and by fostering self-reliance and community participation through its Learning Centers; through training opportunities to teachers in interactive and critical thinking methodologies; through workshops for members of civil society in subjects such as human rights, women’s rights, leadership, and peace; and through providing health education and health care through its clinics.
AIL has a long-standing technical assistance agreement with Creating Hope International (CHI)--a 501(c)3 non-profit in the U.SA. CHI provides advice, training, financial management, and fund-raising assistance and acts as fiscal sponsor for AIL upon request. CHI also provides technical assistance to other private educational and health projects in Afghanistan.
AIL has a long-standing technical assistance agreement with Creating Hope International (CHI)--a 501(c)3 non-profit in the U.SA. CHI provides advice, training, financial management, and fund-raising assistance and acts as fiscal sponsor for AIL upon request. CHI also provides technical assistance to other private educational and health projects in Afghanistan.
