By Humaira
My family and I were one of the many lucky Afghan refugees who immigrated to the United States in 1979, after the Russian red army marched into Afghanistan and occupied it for the next nine years.
I'm thankful for living in the Bay Area where we have abundant opportunities and my children live in a safe community where they have access to education, art, community and a promising future. Unfortunately not all children around the world are as lucky as mine. There are Afghan girls who go to school hungry, if they even have a school, they go to bed with the sound of exploding bombs, if they even have a bed, and they worry about what tomorrow brings them, if they live long enough to see tomorrow.
As a way to give back for my good fortune, twelve years ago, I co-founded Afghan Friends Network, a non-profit organization where we enable local communities in Afghanistan to send their girls to school, to teach their boys the worthiness of their sisters and to empower women to read and write.
This #GivingTuesday I ask you to support the students of our schools in Ghazni, Afghanistan through a tax deductible donation to Afghan Friends Network (AFN).
We, at AFN believe that education can be transformative. Our students come to our learning centers through snowy winters, in spite of concerns for their personal security, and against the weight of intractable poverty. The 5,000 middle and high school students and adult women we have educated are determined to change their communities - as nurses, computer scientists, teachers - and their lives.
Hear it from a student of Afghan Friends Network’s Women’s Literacy Program:
“[Literacy] influences my family life, when some letter comes to my house my husband gives it to me to read it, I am proud of my lesson studied in KLC. ”
Afghan Friends Network is an all-volunteer, grassroots organization—almost all funds raised go directly to our projects in Afghanistan. Today, we ask for your support to help us continue our work in Afghanistan. A donation of any amount $5, $25, $100 or $250 will make a difference in our student's lives. Please consider making a donation today to support our #GivingTuesday campaign.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
Most importantly, please share the message - about #GivingTuesday, about Afghanistan, about AFN. What moves you to give? When you are thinking of the word giving, what do you imagine?
Happy holidays, and happy #GivingTuesday!