Who We Are
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We provide for the most needy in our society. We strive for a balanced and peaceful Afghanistan in which all people are valued and have educational opportunity, good health care and economic opportunity.
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AIL's success is based on the quality of its staff and their training and the quality services that they provide, but also because of the courage of the individuals and communities who come to AIL for education, training and health care.
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We have grown in size and scope over the past two decades and now reach thousands with training, tens of thousands with education and hundreds of thousands with health services.
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With AIL's help 
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Our Founder
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi's vision is what started AIL. She saw the need for education and health care and education about health to help desperate people improve their situations. She realized underpinning all of this you need quality training of all personnel such as teachers and medical staff but also in depth training of the public in health, core values and human rights. Now the Afghan people are ready for more than basics and so AIL has workshops on peace, elections, leadership and many other subjects enhancing the capacity of people. Read more about Sakena. Our History
Beginning in the 1990s, in refugee camps in Pakistan where there were no educational opportunities Dr. Yacoobi founded AIL and started Learning Centers and provided healthcare. AIL operated 80 "secret schools" for 3,000 girls in Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban regime, training 80 teachers. The secret schools closed after the Taliban were removed from power and since 2001, AIL has expanded opening Learning Centers, establishing clinics and running workshop training in many subjects as well as holding conferences on love and forgiveness and opening a legal aid clinic. Mission Statement
The mission of AIL is to provide education, training and health services to vulnerable Afghans in order to foster self-reliance, critical thinking skills, and community participation throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
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Our Innovation
Holistic approach Providing education is key to systemic change, especially education for women and girls but in tandem with this must be good health care and linked health education so that change in habit becomes ingrained through know how. Building trust and ownership AIL goes to a community only when it has been requested. The community states what it wants and AIL sees how it can help. The community then contributes to the project such as supplies, security, volunteers, teachers, buildings or land. Trust is established and community "buy in" is in place from the start. Through this process 30-50% of projects needs are provided and sometimes as much as 90%. Evolving programing Teachers needed training in interactive teaching methods but now need to know about peace, leadership, health and human rights, democracy and elections so they can pass this onto their students. Literacy learning through texting on mobile phones accelerates learning so new mobile texting classes are in place. A few hours of instructions in pregnancy and childbirth saves lives so AIL set up an Expectant Mother Workshop program. AIL knows the need for change in programming is constant, to keep up with changing needs and to utilize new available resources and new ideas that develop. |
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AIL Board of Directors |
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