Past Projects
School Leaders as Agents of Change Towards Equity and Inclusion
The School Leaders as Agents of Change Towards Equity and Inclusion program focused on empowering school leaders in Afghanistan to foster inclusive and equitable education environments. Through training and support, the initiative equipped principals and administrators with the skills needed to address barriers to education, promote gender equality, and implement inclusive practices in their schools. The program aimed to transform educational leadership, ensuring that all students, particularly girls and marginalized groups, had access to quality education.
Champion For Education in Afghanistan Award
Each year, Right to Learn Afghanistan recognizes individuals, projects, programs, and organizations that have given outstanding service to the cause of supporting education for Afghan girls or women with the Champion for Education in Afghanistan Award.
Through a nomination process, the Champion Award helps to identify and celebrate the many ‘unsung heroes’ who have demonstrated a personal commitment to the human right to education, whether through conceiving innovative education programs; leading or implementing programs like schools, literacy classes or professional development training; fundraising; volunteering; or advocacy. These inspiring role models help to spotlight the challenges and opportunities for women and girls pursuing education against great odds.
The Champion Award was first launched in 2011. For more than a decade, this initiative has put the spotlight on the people doing the work of making the right to education a reality across Afghanistan, and who are the energy behind the movement for this all important of human rights – the right to learn. Past champions have been individuals from Afghanistan, from Canada, and from other countries.
Want to nominate a Champion for Education? Click here to access the nomination form.
MONTREAL 2023
- School Category: The Girls’ College
- Virtual Education Category: Generation of Change
- Refugee-led Category: Amoozesh
CALGARY 2022
- 5 Afghan schools for girls
- Human Rights Watch
- Calgary Girls School
VIRTUAL 2021
- Every girl in Afghanistan who has ever wanted an education
VIRTUAL 2020
- Aziz Royesh, Kabul, AF
- Pat Cashion, Calgary, AB
HARRISON 2019
- Jill Leslie, Victoria, BC
TORONTO 2018
- Madeliene Tarasick, Kingston, ON
- Margaret Stewart, Kingston, ON
CALGARY 2017
- Irene MacDonald, Calgary, AB
- Deborah Alexander, Calgary, AB
OTTAWA 2016
- Louise Pascale, Boston, USA
- Linda Middaugh, Halton, ON
BANFF 2015
- Murwarid Ziayee, Calgary, AB
MANITOBA 2014
- Mellissa Fung, Washington, DC
VICTORIA 2013
- Marnie Gustavson, Kabul, AF
- Lauryn Oates, Vancouver, BC
ATLANTIC 2012:
- Ash Khan, Calgary, AB
- Deborah Ellis, Simcoe, ON
OAKVILLE 2011
- Janice Eisenhauer, Calgary, AB
- Sally Armstrong, Oakville, ON
DD Lite
DDL Lite is an offline version of the Darakht-e Danesh Library (DDL), designed to provide access to open educational resources (OER) in areas with limited internet connectivity. It operates through a local area network (LAN) set up with a simple computer acting as a server, allowing other computers at the site to access the library. DDL Lite is installed in teacher training colleges, schools, and libraries across Afghanistan, ensuring that communities in remote areas can still benefit from educational resources.
Afghanistan Reads!
The Afghanistan Reads! program was an award-winning adult literacy initiative that provided access to mother-tongue reading materials, professional development for teachers, and family literacy. It offered community-based classes, often held in private homes, to women and out-of-school girls, integrating practical life skills into the curriculum. Since its inception, the program empowered thousands of women across various provinces in Afghanistan, providing them with literacy education and the opportunity to pursue their dreams, significantly impacting their lives and communities.
Gender Equity In Teacher Training
The GETT Project: Gender Equity in Teacher Training to Improve Girls’ Education in Afghanistan (the “GETT” project), funded by Global Affairs Canada, was originally an innovative project to promote gender responsive teacher training in four provinces in Afghanistan.
From 2019 to 2021, the project focused on increasing the number of female teachers in Afghanistan and supporting the participation of Afghan girls in formal education.
After the fall of Kabul in 2021, this project was suspended.
GETT Project: Phase 2
In March 2023, through the commitment of Global Affairs Canada, GETT was partially reinstated (“Phase 2”) to allow Right to Learn Afghanistan, formerly Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, to complete the development of training programs initiated in 2020–2021. GETT: Phase 2 created a series of online educator courses that are located on the Darakht-e Danesh Academi (Knowledge Tree) platform.
Teaching and learning online is now standard practice around the world. GETT courses taught course participants computer literacy skills, online safety (e-safety), how to teach online, and how to use resources on the internet to teach students in classrooms.
Teachers also learned skills for creating inclusive and gender-responsive learning spaces to support better all Afghan students, including those facing mental health challenges. A basic English course was made available for Afghans planning to resettle in an English-speaking country. The courses are free, mobile device compatible, and available to anyone who wants to learn.
By partnering with local organizations in Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey, Right to Learn Afghanistan attracted hundreds of Afghans, including teachers, aspiring teachers, and other educators, to take online courses.
Access the courses in English, Farsi/Dari, and Pashto at on the Darakht-e Danesh Courses website.
Fatema tul Zahra Girls’ School
Right to Learn Afghanistan, formerly Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, funded the operation of the Fatema tul Zahra Girls’ School, a local community school in Kabul for 400 girls in grades 1-12, from 2004 until March 31, 2021. Right to Learn provided a safe building and classrooms; trained teachers and ongoing professional development; after school program instructors; learning resources and school notebooks and pencils; fuel for heat in winter; a library; computer lab; playground; and a learning garden. Right to Learn’s quality assurance staff supported the school administration and worked to improve the quality of learning. Right to Learn refurbished the computer lab at the Fatema tul Zahra School in Kabul, with funding support from the Canadian Embassy in Kabul. Once the lab was equipped, we developed a digital literacy curriculum for six grade levels, and trained the school’s teachers. This was a pilot and we used the experience to improve the curriculum. Both the Canadian Embassy, through Canada’s Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), and the Rotary Club of Kabul have provided library books and resources. Students attended the International Literacy Day events, and enjoyed field trips to the Museum of Science and Technology. The school kitchen was updated, including a much needed water purifier thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Kabul and Germany. A successful coaching and mentoring component was introduced for FTZ teachers, where some of the experienced teachers were paired with junior or new teachers.
Back to School
Right to Learn Afghanistan is part of a tripartite partnership with UNESCO Afghanistan and the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan which campaigns for the right to education and getting girls back to school.
“In every crisis lies the seed of opportunity. The strengthening of disance learing/hybrid learning will help to forge a more resilient, flexible and accessible education system.” -Unesco policy brief
This campaign is one component of UNESCO’s Covid-19 response project under the CapED programme in Afghanistan, which contributes to evidence-based policy-making and planning for school reopening, long-term reform and resilience-building during Covid-19 and beyond.
To become truly resilient, flexible and accessible, the education system including all schools, should develop their capacity to switch easily from in-person learning to remote learning as part of their reform and recommitment for recovering from the current crisis, and preparing for future disruptions and mainstreaming the use of ICT in education.
Other components include a workshop series on Covid-19 response and follow-on outputs such as policy briefs and a national study to investigate the effectiveness of alternative learning and school reopening across provinces.
Why This Project? The COVID-19 pandemic has put Afghan girls at risk of not returning to school, threatening decades of progress toward girls’ education and gender equality. In Afghanistan this situation is exacerbated by ongoing security problems, making it unsafe for girls to realize their right to education. In Afghanistan, not only will hard earned gains in educational access come under threat, but gender equality indicators such as early marriage and gender-based violence are further exacerbated, and girls often disproportionately carry additional domestic burdens once out of school and at home.
School Starter Kits
Literacy thrives when learners have access to reading material. Right to Learn Afghanistan provides access to books through our teacher training and literacy programs. By placing small “starter” libraries into classrooms, books introduce the joy of reading for pleasure among students, and their families, when borrowers are able to bring books home.
We equipped more than 260 schools with School Library Starter Kits, established 36 community libraries, and set up small libraries in 132 literacy classes and contributed to the literacy education of more than 3,100 of our literacy graduates. We deliver orientation workshops for schools and communities on how to use and sustain these valuable resources.
Our libraries consist of high-quality local language books – purchased from local publishers in Afghanistan – suitable for new readers on a variety of topics, from animal husbandry to history and poetry.
Hands-on Science Learning
Right to Learn Afghanistan equipped more than 250 schools with School Science Lab Starter Kits. In addition to items like anatomy models, microscopes and other equipment, these kits include consumables such as chemicals that teachers use in experiments during class. These consumables need to be replaced regularly. Right to Learn replenishes schools’ sciences labs during monitoring visits to schools.
“A library tells us that we are not alone and never have been.” Deborah Ellis, Author: The Breadwinner.
The Afghanistan Women’s Empowerment Program (AWEP)
The Afghanistan Women’s Empowerment Program (AWEP) was a project of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) that aimed to advance women’s empowerment by increasing the social and economic participation of women in 36 districts of Takhar, Baghlan and Bamyan provinces of Afghanistan. The beneficiaries include rural women, personnel of the Afghan Government’s Departments of Women Affairs (DoWA) and District Governor Offices (DGOs), religious leaders, the local Community Development Councils (CDCs), as well as members of civil society organizations and media.
Right to Learn Afghanistan partnered with AKFC, and it implementing partner, Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan (AKFA), in this project, with Right to Learn’s role to deliver literacy education to female beneficiaries in four districts of Takhar province, over a four-year period, 2016-2020, drawing on its successful methods from the Afghanistan Reads! Program in delivering adult literacy classes for AWEP beneficiaries. The project achieved excellent results. For example, in Kalafkan district, 97.8% of the female students reported that they had learned something new or useful during the program, 100% learned how to read and write and were practicing reading and writing skills daily, and the community libraries were visited over just a few months. In Baharak district, 100% of learners reported they feel more confident about managing their daily lives. Students, teachers and community members visited the 10 Baharak libraries 3,308 times during the period August 2017 to March 2018. The project trained 30 teachers in basic teaching methods, librarianship and reading promotion, and 1,800 women completed life skills classes.
AWEP was undertaken in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and with the generous financial support of the Government of Canada
In Their Own Words
Lameya:“This is a golden opportunity for me and I don’t want to miss a second of it, so I come earlier than everyone and practice my lessons. I feel my dreams are coming true when I hold a book and read for myself. I share the stories with my mother and younger brother. I am also able to read some news in newspapers, TV ads and also can solve math questions. Thank you to those who support girls’ education and fund our literacy class and library!”
Roya: “I am now able to read the numbers on my father’s mobile phone! The greatest change I have experienced since attending literacy classes is my increased confidence! I am now advising my elder sisters and other friends when I am needed and I have learned the ways of good communication and respecting elders.”
Mohsina (a teacher): “I was born in a middle class family in Takhar Province. When I was a five, I was enrolled in a government school and, luckily, I was allowed to finish. I struggled to convince my family to let me continue my educationand made it to the Faculty of Law at a private university, but facing resistance, I was forced to quit and joined GIZ (German NGO) organization as a literacy teacher. Then I found out about a posting for a literacy teacher… in our own village. I trained and soon had 45 students in my own house in two shifts. All my students are adult women who have never been in any education program. They are excited tobe here and already after a few short months they have learned to read and write all Dari alphabets and write their names and simple words. Every day, first we discuss their problems and challenges and then we solve them together.
Fatima: “By attending the literacy course I will be a better mother for my children and will be able to help them with their studies. Since the start of the course my confidence level has increased and now life has a whole different meaningfor me. I have also made many friends in the literacy class.”
…I have participated in two training workshops, a lifeskills workshop and a pedagogy teacher training where I learned how to teach adults, how to organize the classroom, how to prepare a lesson plan and apply it, and how to assess my students’ and many more topics. Now, I can conduct workshops for my students and I hope that, by attending these classes, their lives improve in many ways, including better managing their income and expenses, considering better hygiene and good nutrition for themselves and their families, and taking care of themselves during and after pregnancy.”
Grant to Sisters 4 Sisters program of PARSA
For over 10 years, until 2020, Right to Learn Afghanistan, formerly Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, provided grants for operational and programs funding to PARSA (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support of Afghanistan), with the last grant supporting PARSA’s Sisters 4 Sisters Program (S4S), that provides mentorship and personalized attention for groups of at-risk women and girls. The program’s approach addresses the challenging social and security circumstances that Afghan girls experience as they attempt to succeed in school and prepare to join the workforce, with four pillars: 1. Mentorship; 2. Psychosocial Health (“Girl Talk”); 3. Physical Wellbeing; and 4. Life Skills. PARSA was established in 1996, and endured through the era of Taliban governance, conducting secret literacy and economic programs for women. Visit their website for more details and to read about their many innovative community development programs.
The Wakhan Initiative for Literacy, Education and Development (WILED)
As part of the Afghanistan Reads program, and funded by the Business for Better Society this project responded to a request from local activists to improve access to education in this remote part of Badakhshan province. The project provided literacy education for 240 people in the Wakhan Corridor of Badakhshan province, in six different villages. Each literacy class received a library, accessible to all literacy students, their families, and local community members. Twelve teachers were trained in literacy pedagogy and adult education approaches, and also received coaching in literacy education, librarianship and reading promotion. All 240 literacy students also benefitted from life skills education covering topics such as first aid, nutrition, maternal health and rights, and more. The project succeeded in supporting higher education rates in Wakhan and improved local capacity for managing and delivering quality learning and teaching.
House of Flowers Orphanage
The House of Flowers (HoF) is a unique orphanage in Kabul that provides a home as well as an innovative education program for orphaned children aged 5 to 18. The House was founded in 2002 in order to help meet the critical needs of destitute children who had lost parents. Children in these situations were sometimes living on the streets or in situations of extreme poverty and/or violence. The HoF was designed to provide a safe and supportive home and a very strong and unique educational program for these children, giving them the chance to grow up in a developmentally healthy environment and also to recover from the traumas many of them had experienced. The House is currently home to 27 children, one third of whom are girls. Since 2002, the House of Flowers has operated under a protocol with the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Disabled and Martyrs (MoLSADM) of the Government of Afghanistan. The children come to the House through recommendations from neighbors, family members and the MoLSADM. The staff then investigate the socioeconomic situation and assesses whether the need for a home for the child is genuine and legitimate. The orphanage was initially founded by an organization known as MEPO (Medical, Education and Peace Organization), and has been operated by an Afghan non-governmental organization (NGO) known as HEWAD since its founding. From its inception, the philosophy of the HoF environment provided for the children has been based on Montessori learning and teaching principles, emphasizing inner development and inner strength through meeting children’s developmental needs. For example, the children at HoF are integrally involved in the House community. They have responsibilities but also freedom. They are given experience in life skills in the House to help prepare them for adulthood. They learn skills of conflict transformation, self-awareness and compassion, and also develop strong social skills. Children have joined the House of Flowers along the way, through recommendations from the MoLSADM. As the children grow older, some of them have begun transitioning out into the wider world, working part-time and earning their own money. Those who have left the House frequently return to visit, and the staff keeps close tabs on them to make sure that they continue their studies even after having left.
Using the DD Library to Support Girls’ Success in the Konkor Exam
As students in Afghanistan complete high school, those who wish to enroll in university write a national examination known as the Konkor. The pass rates of this exam are higher among male students than among females, and one reason is likely males are more likely to access preparatory classes in private institutions, as well as other means of support to prepare for the exam, that female have more limited access to. In response to this problem, The Asia Foundation conceptualized a project using a systematic, cost effective, sustainable, and geographically representative approach: Providing the opportunity for Kankor Exam preparation training to girl students by their own school teachers and during their regular study time. This activity was launched in 300 schools across Afghanistan. In addition to supporting teachers to effectively prepare female students to pass the exam by focusing on the questions one might expect to be included in the exam, Right to Learn Afghanistan’s Darakht-e Danesh Library was mobilized to increase critical thinking and problem solving skills in teachers and students. The DD Library made available a variety of learning materials, study guides, and interactive features that helped students and teachers better grasp subject knowledge by engaging their thinking and analysis. Students in remote areas accessed these tools from an offline version of the DD Library. DD Library team members traveled to the schools and supported them to access and use this technology-enabled learning tool on site.
Fanoos/Lantern: Teacher Training for Afghanistan
The goal of the Fanoos/Lantern Fund: Teacher Education for Afghanistan Program was to provide training for 1,000 in-service teachers each year, half of whom will be female, in rural Afghanistan. The teachers registered in the program were trained in active learning methods, as opposed to traditional rote learning. Their training had a heavy emphasis on hands-on math and science as well as student-centred social studies and language learning, utilizing highly qualified Afghan Master Teacher Trainers. Upon successful completion of training, teachers are certified by the Afghan Ministry of Education and, as a result, are eligible for a salary increase as certified teachers. We worked to intensively train teachers in both methods (pedagogy) and subject matter, as a powerful way to increase the quality of the public education system, and improve learning outcomes among students. The project’s goal was to raise learning outcomes by improving the quality of public secondary school education in target locations, contributing to Afghanistan’s long-term human development objectives by investing in the country’s human capital. Specific target outcomes include enhanced performance among trained teachers in pedagogical skill and in subject knowledge; enhanced pedagogical performance among trained teacher educators; participating schools equipped with resources that enable application of the training methods, including school science labs and school libraries; and the capacity development of school administrators in participating schools. The project budget was $400 per teacher trainee, which included the cost of basic training and numerous supplementary activities to reinforce the teachers’ professional development, including the equipping of all participating schools with School Starter Kits: one modest science lab and one mini library to provide the necessary resources for engaging students in active, hands-on learning. Quarterly reports are available for Fanoos. Please contact us to request a report.
Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies (KIMS)
The Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies (KIMS) in Kandahar City was committed to promoting the participation of women in the economic, political, social, cultural and civic life of their country, and is provider of employment-oriented education that has created significant change for students in Kandahar, particularly women. The KIMS project promoted economic independence and social stability for 175 women and their families in Kandahar. The Professional Education Development project provided 10 months of scholarships for 175 women to attend training in English, Communications, Journalism and Computing. Training included computer skills, business communication and English language, organizational behaviour, leadership, human resoures and conflict management, and fundamental accounting principles. There was a significant need for professional education and economic development, particularly for women in southern Afghanistan. Illiteracy in Kandahar Province was estimated at 71.7% in Kandahar Province (according to the Ministry of Education), the average family income was estimated at just $37 per week and 32% suffered from some form of food insecurity (Danish Refugee Council, 2013). The high rate of illiteracy and unemployment contributed to the continuous subjugation of Afghan women.
Afghan Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC)
Afghan Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC) was the first partner for Right to Learn Afghanistan, formerly Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, in 1998. The initial grant of USD $2,500 helped cover the rent for their offices and women’s resource centres in refugee camps. Following that, funds were provided annually by Right to Learn for many projects with AWRC. AWRC was founded in 1989 to address the urgent needs of Afghan refugee women. AWRC’s stated vision for their organization is to work towards “a future where Afghan women are active agents of positive change in their community and country”. AWRC serves women and children in the provinces of Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Laghman and Ningarhar. Their main programmes include Community Mobilizations & Advocacy, Education, Community Empowerment, Supporting Civil Society Organizations. CW4WAfghan also helped to re-establish their offices in Kabul in 2002, to expand their activities and establish a suboffice in Laghman and funded a community library in Kabul.
