ASCHIANA FOUNDATION U.S.A.
Mission: To provide education and training to working street children through Aschiana in Afghanistan.
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The Aschiana Foundation was established in the United States in 2004 by a group of ex-patriots, diplomats, military spouses, and others who had worked in Afghanistan. They had witnessed firsthand the desperate plight of children working on the streets of Kabul.
Determined to find an organized way to help the children, they became acquainted with Aschiana, a small grass-roots organization begun in 1995 by Engineer Yousef. They were impressed by his reputation for integrity and his ability to effectively deliver educational and health services to boys and girls too poor to attend school.
Since 2004, the Aschiana Foundation has provided assistance to Aschiana in Afghanistan in the following ways:
- After it was forced out of temporary quarters, helped Aschiana purchase land and fund construction of a permanent Children’s Center in Kabul scheduled for completion in 2011.
- Provided assistance for operation of Aschiana programs for children in Kabul, Mazari Sharif, Parwan, Herat, Gardez, and at six Internally Displaced Persons camps.
- Sponsored more than 200 children to enter Afghanistan’s school system through the Sponsor-A-Child program;
- Sponsored daily hot meals for children at the Kabul and the Karte Char centers;
- Purchased footwear for 820 children in three refugee camps;
- Arranged for more than 250 boxes of supplies and clothing to be sent to Aschiana with the assistance of DHL;
- Provided 28 large weatherproof tents for Internally Displaced Persons camps, which gave children a sheltered place to live and learn;
- Sponsored an accelerated education program for 300 young women in Parwan.
The Aschiana Foundation is operated by a volunteer Board of Directors experienced in working with international educational and humanitarian programs. With no administrative staff, the U.S. foundation operates at minimal expense (4%). The bulk of its annual budget goes directly to Aschiana in Afghanistan.
After extensive review of its financial and governance practices by independent organizations, the Aschiana Foundation has received high ratings. An independent financial audit in 2010 gave the foundation an unqualified opinion. The Better Business Bureau accredited the Aschiana Foundation as a charity that meets all 20 standards for Charity Accountability.
In 2011, the U.S. Federal Government approved the Aschiana Foundation as a charity worthy of donor support through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Federal civilian, postal and military personnel may donate financially to the Aschiana Foundation through the CFC, the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace giving program.
The Aschiana Foundation is the U.S. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) that provides financial support to Aschiana in Afghanistan. There are NGOs in Japan, Great Britain and the European Community that also provide support to Aschiana in Afghanistan.
Board of Directors (2011-2012)
The Aschiana Foundation is operated by a Board of Directors comprised of uncompensated volunteers with experience working with humanitarian, education and other programs in the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The Foundation's Board for June 2011 to June 2012 is:
Mrs. Patricia Silberman, President
Mrs. Sima Lodin Calkin, Vice President
Mrs. Candice Hughes, Vice President
Mrs. J. Lisa Jorgenson, Vice President
Mrs. Mary Jo Myers, Vice President
Mrs. Sally Cox, Treasurer
Mrs. Ann Guthrie Hingston, Secretary
Mrs. Cidalia Akbar
Mrs. Margaret (Muggy) Hoffmann
Mrs. Merrie Inderfurth
Mrs. Homaira Jalali
Mrs. Annie McChrystal
Mrs. Shaista Mahmood
Ms. Margaret Rogers
Mrs. Louise Shimizu