Project Vocational Schools for Afghan Widows & Orphans

According to UNIFEM Survey:

65% of the 50,000 widows in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan,

see suicide as the only option to get rid of their miseries and desolation.

While I was deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months in 2009, I witnessed how Afghan widows were hopelessly abandoned on the streets.  With the help of Dr. Rafi, Afghanistan trained medical doctor, and Asad, Afghan interpreter working with U.S. Army, I gathered pictures and information about the wretched conditions these women headed families are living under.

The average age of Afghan widows is 35 years old, and 94 % of them are illiterate. Most of them do not have job skills and they are starving.  They have no voice or respect from the society.   They do not have protection and they are the lowest class in Afghan society.

Approximately 90 percent of Afghan widows have children, and most of them have more than four.  Widows and their children are out on the street, begging for food or small change.

WAR should NEVER happen!  But it is happening in Afghanistan right now, and people are suffering.  I KNOW this, because I WAS THERE.

Please HELP us build VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS to educate and train these WIDOWS to feed their children in Afghanistan!!!

WHY BUILD VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS FOR WIDOWS?

• 42 % of Afghans are chronically poor.  That is roughly about 12.6 million people.
• Chronically poor is defined as people who live under $11 a month per person for more than 5 years.
• Many of them are WIDOWS.
• A lot of these widows are out on the street BEGGING for spare change or food, and their children are carrying wheelbarrows on the streets to earn few coins from one person to another instead of studying in school like most of our children do in the States.
• With 76% of illiteracy and 42 % of the population chronically poor, the war-torn country of Afghanistan really needs our help.
• To help these WIDOWS, we decided to build VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, teaching and training them the essential skills to survive.  We can keep bringing them shoes, food, and clothes, but these are one time deals and there are limits to how much and what we can deliver them every day, every month.  However, if we teach and train them in the necessary skills and knowledge, they can become self sufficient.  PHA understands that education is the one of the most critical keys to Afghanistan’s survival.
• We are not out to spend millions of dollars to build one big fancy school.
• We will, instead, build many SATELLITE CLASSES all around Afghanistan to effectively reach out to the most needed widows in different parts of the nation as fast as possible.

WHAT WE WILL TEACH/TRAIN:

Initially we will focus on 3 subjects;

1. Literacy class: We will teach how to read and write Pashto and how to perform simple math.
2. Hygiene class: We will teach the importance of hygiene and how.
3. Sewing class: We will teach how to sew and embroider and help them generate immediate income for their family.

WHAT BENEFITS WILL STUDENTS RECEIVE FROM THE COURSE?

• It is a 2 months long course, teaching 6 days a week, 2 hours a day.
• Upon graduation, each student will receive;
  • A FIRST AID KIT for their family.
  • A brand new SEWING MACHINE along with a SEWING KIT to immediately start working.
  • Graduates will be able to READ and WRITE Pashto and know how to perform simple MATH.
  • Graduates will also receive beautiful CERTIFICATES OF COMPLETION.
  • PHA is planning to add an online STORE on its website to introduce students’ completed items for sale to help these graduates (widows) generate approximately $60 a month INCOME to support their families.

THE FUTURE PLAN:

• PHA will initially start with 1 class in Jalalabad city and add 6 more classes in early 2011; 3 classes in Jalalabad city, 3 classes in Kabul city, and 1 class in Goshta district.
• By 2013, we will expand to about 50 classes in many different parts of Afghanistan, which is going to be $1.5 million+ project.
• PHA is constantly researching and interacting with the Afghanistan government to learn about new job skills that we can effectively teach our students to be employed by governmental offices or their associates.

HOW MUCH DO WE NEED TO START-UP THE FIRST CLASS?

The following budget is to run the class for next 6 months.

• Hiring and training staff members: $15,300
• Sewing machines: $4,860
• Sewing kits: $2,520
• 3 room building rental: $600
• Textbooks: $1,980
• Office Supplies: $6,040
• Communication: $780
• Overall Start-Up Budget: $32,080

All money raised will go directly toward the start-up budgets.  William Seo, Dr. Rafi, Melvyn Lopez, Richard Johnson, Asad, and Hope Senterfitt have already donated more than 2000 hours supporting the organization in helping Afghans, and various individuals and organizations, such as Gary Sinise and his non-profit organizations(Operation International Children and People to People), Chaplain Satterfield, Spirit of America, Officers Christian Fellowship, Central Presbyterian Church of Terre Haute, Evergreen Methodist Church, Madison Presbyterian Church from Indiana, First Christian Church from Iowa, and many more.

Project Help Afghanistan is a 501(c)3 registered Non-Profit Organization, and ALL DONATIONS ARE COMPLETELY TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:

Project Help Afghanistan is a start-up non-profit organization dedicated to help alleviate poverty among widows and children in Afghanistan by implementing the core value of H.E.M.E. by facilitating literacy, practical skills training, and other services.

• Housing(H)
• Education(E)
• Medical(M)
• Employment(E)

Heme is the main part of blood that carries 4 oxygen molecules to every part of our body which is critical for survival; likewise H.E.M.E. is the essential part of survival for Afghanistan.

Pick your level and PLEDGE today!

You can make difference in lives of these desperate homeless widows and children in Afghanistan.

Thank you so very much for your support!

Join the Donor Societies!

• The SELF-CONTROL Society: $50 or less
  - You will get a Thank-You Card from Project Help Afghanistan and will be recognized on our website

• The GENTLENESS Society $50 +
  - You will get a Thank-You card from Project Help Afghanistan, your name will be recognized on our website, and will also get a digital download copy of 40+ power point slides of showing how PHA was started.

• The FAITHFULNESS Society $100 +
  - All of the above and you will also get a digital download copy of daily journal written by the founder and President, William Seo, during the deployment in 2009 to Afghanistan.  You will be able to read in depth history of Project Help Afghanistan.

• The GOODNESS Society $250 +
  -All of the above and you will also get a digital download copy of short movie clip (3+ minutes) taken during Mr. Gary Sinise’s visit to Afghanistan to do a school supply distribution project together with PHA in 2009.

• The KINDNESS Society $500 +
  -All of the above and you will also get a thank you letter from one of the students of the vocational schools.

• The LONG-SUFFERING Society $1,000 +
  - All of the above and you will be invited to a diner with the board members.

• The PEACE Society $2,500 +
  -All of the above and a sewing machine will be donated in your name.

• The JOY Society $5,000 +
  -All of the above and a permanent plaque display at the main school at the Jalalabad city, Afghanistan.

• The LOVE Society $10,000 +
  -All of above and a school will be named after your name.