Our Strategy

Our approach centers on community-driven solutions and collaboration across Afghanistan’s regions. We engage with women from all walks of life, widows, orphans, displaced people, and those with limited educational access, by:

• Conducting assessments to understand the specific needs and challenges faced by women.

• Providing specialized vocational training tailored to local demand, such as tailoring, embroidery, carpet weaving, confectionery, wool spinning, and leatherwork.

• Fostering environments where women can create products for local and international markets.

• Bridging connections to markets, cooperatives, and mentorship for ongoing growth and sustainability.

📖 About the Program

At Compassionate Afghanistan, we are committed to empowering communities through our integrated programs in Capacity Building & Skills Development and Education & Literacy. These initiatives equip women, including businesswomen, entrepreneurs, laborers, and vulnerable members of the community, with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to transform their lives and build sustainable futures.

Empowering Women Through Education and Skills

🌍 Program Objectives

Our primary objectives focus on meaningful, lasting impacts

Enhancing Economic Independence

Mobilizing and Engaging Communities

Promoting Sustainability and Broader Impact

Scope of Activities

The program incorporates a diverse scope of interventions:

• Vocational Training: Offering practical, daily and weekly sessions in tailoring, bead embroidery, carpet weaving, confectionery and pastry, wool spinning, needlework, bag sewing, leatherwork, and more.

• Business Development: Supporting women to develop business skills, expand into new markets, and engage in digital marketing and branding initiatives.

• Product Creation: Enabling women to produce goods for sale both locally and online, while ensuring quality and innovation.

• Market Linkages: Establishing partnerships and running social media campaigns that connect women’s products to larger audiences.

• Job Placement and Entrepreneurship: Guiding participants from training to job placement, small-business startup, and cooperative development.

• Support for the Vulnerable: Focused attention to the most marginalized, including widows, orphans, displaced, and underprivileged women

📊 Expected Impact

Short-Term Impact

• Immediate access to literacy, life skills, and vocational resources.

• Formation of women’s support networks for mutual upliftment.

• Identification and nurturing of local entrepreneurs and leaders.

Long-Term Impact

• A new generation of skilled, educated women active in their communities.

• Increased employment and sustainable income for families and communities.

• Preservation of Afghan cultural heritage and crafts.

• Expansion of women-led businesses into national and international spaces.

• Broader economic and social transformation driven by empowered women

Why This Program Matters

Women across Afghanistan are facing immense hardships and ongoing challenges, from limited educational access to barriers in employment. Compassionate Afghanistan’s interventions provide a vital lifeline, helping women build skills, enter or re-enter the workforce, start businesses, and support their families. Investing in their growth means strengthening entire communities and laying the groundwork for lasting stability and development throughout the country.

Training & Development

We prioritize accessible, hands-on training. Our sessions blend foundational theory with practical skills, ranging from literacy and financial management, to specialized crafts and business leadership. Every opportunity is tailored to local realities, maximizing women’s potential for success.

Through ongoing events, expos, and active market linkages, we help women showcase their skills and products, connect with buyers, and grow their entrepreneurial networks. By lifting up one woman, we often inspire and create tangible pathways for many more.

Building Opportunities

Afghanistan has faced broad economic, social, security, and gender-related challenges in recent years. These challenges have had the greatest impact on women and girls, particularly in the northern provinces and rural areas where access to education, health, and economic opportunities is extremely limited. Many women, due to cultural restrictions, poverty, lack of resources, and distance from service centers, are excluded from active participation in community development.

Empowerment Program for Women and Girls in Northern Afghanistan through Trade, Health, and Education

In the field of economy, women’s interest in trade and economic activities has increased in recent years; however, the lack of necessary knowledge and skills in business management, financial planning, and marketing has made women’s businesses unsustainable. Additionally, the absence of supportive and competitive resources has further weakenedwomen's economic potential.

In the health sector, the shortage of professional healthcare workers in villages and districts, the lack of training in first aid and basic health services, and the limited awareness among girls about basic care have led to an increase in mortality rates, preventable illnesses, and weakened local health structures.

In education and digital skills, many girls in middle and high school are deprived of access to language and computer training courses. Although these skills are vital for continuing education, employment, and digital participation, barriers such as lack of in-person classes, cultural and security restrictions, and weak technological infrastructure hinder their learning. However, relative access to the internet and smartphones has created an opportunity for online education.

This program proposes an integrated approach to empower women and girls in northern Afghanistan, focusing on three key areas: trade, health, and digital education.

Overall Goal

To empower women and girls in northern Afghanistan through trade training, the development of basic community health workers, and online education in English and computer literacy, in order to promote economic independence, community well-being, and digital participation.

• To enhance trade knowledge and economic empowerment for 1,000 women entrepreneurs in six northern provinces.

• To provide basic health training (first aid, pharmacology, injections) to 200 high school graduate girls in rural areas of Balkh province.

• To deliver online English and computer literacy training to 500 high school girls (grades 10–12) in Balkh, Jawzjan, and Sar-e-Pul provinces

Specific Objectives

Target Groups

The proposed program targets three specific groups of women and girls:

Women Entrepreneurs (Trade Component)

1,000 women interested in business in the northern provinces, including both active and aspiring entrepreneurs. Their provincial breakdown is as follows:

• Balkh: 300

• Jawzjan: 150

• Sar-e-Pul: 150

• Faryab (Maymana): 150

• Samangan: 150

• Takhar: 100

High School Graduate Girls (Health Component)

200 girls in rural areas of Balkh province who have graduated from grade 12 and are interested in health services. Due to lack of educational or employment opportunities, they can serve as basic health workers in their communities.

500 high school girls (grades 10–12) from Balkh, Jawzjan, and Sar-e-Pul provinces who have access to a smartphone or computer and the internet. These students are eager to learn English and computer skills but are unable to attend in-person classes.

High School Girls (Online Education Component)

Community Health Worker Training

Key Activities

• Identification of 200 high school graduate girls in remote districts and villages of Balkh province.

• Development of training curriculum covering first aid, pharmacology, injection techniques, and CPR.

• Hiring qualified health instructors.

• Delivery of in-person training in accessible community centers.

• Distribution of medical kits including first aid and injection supplies.

• Final evaluation and issuance of official certificates.

• Field monitoring and impact assessment in target communities.

Women’s Economic Empowerment – Trade and Finance Training

• Identification and registration of women entrepreneurs in the six target provinces through local councils, relevant institutions, and public announcements.

• Implementation of the Get Ahead program for basic trade and empowerment training.

• Implementation of the SIYB program for advanced skills in business management and development.

• Hiring internationally certified ILO trainers.

• Organizing trade competitions and awarding competitive cash grants.

• Continuous monitoring and evaluation of program implementation and business growth.

• Establishment of supportive networks among women entrepreneurs.

• Preparation and distribution of trade-related training materials.

Online English and Computer Training

• Identification and registration of 500 high school girls from selected schools.

• Preparation of training content in English (conversation, grammar, vocabulary) and computer (typing, MS Word, Excel, internet).

• Hiring skilled instructors for online teaching.

• Delivery of online classes through Zoom or Google Meet.

• Preparation and distribution of digital learning materials (PDFs, videos, exercises).

• Monthly evaluations and issuance of certificates.

• Technical support and internet packages for students in need.

Expected Results

Trade Component

Ongoing monitoring of training sessions, evaluation of business progress, interviews with beneficiaries, and regular reporting.

Health Component

Educational and practical assessments, field monitoring, interviews with families, and analysis of community health impacts

Online Education Component

Tracking online attendance, academic assessments, feedback from teachers and students, and progress reporting.

• Improved trade knowledge and economic capacity of 1,000 women entrepreneurs and increased household incomes.

• Training of 200 girls in basic health services and strengthened local capacity to meet health needs.

• Digital and language literacy for 500 girls, supporting further education, employment, and online participation.

• Increased participation of women in local development and decision-making.

Program Duration

• Trade Component: 12 months

• Health Component: 6 months

• Online Education Component: 6 months

Monitoring and Evaluation

Resources and Requirements

Health Component

• Salaries for health trainers

• Purchase of medical kits

• Training venue

• Transport and meal expenses

Trade Component

• Salaries for certified instructors

• Cash grants for entrepreneurs

• Training materials and logistical supplies

• Monitoring, reporting, and administrative costs

• Salaries for English and computer instructors

• Internet packages

• Digital learning content

• Zoom or Google Meet expenses

• Technical support

Online Education Component

Tamana Afshar is a kind, compassionate, and hardworking woman whose name sparks hope in the hearts of thousands of Afghan women. Born in 1995 in Jawzjan province, she has overcome many personal and social challenges to become one of the most active women in entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment in northern Afghanistan.

She completed her high school at Khadija Jawzjani High School in Sheberghan and graduated with a degree in Medical Sciences from Jawzjan University in 2018. She began working from her first year in university and even pursued a master's degree in law, which she was unable to complete.

Today, she leads an active business in Jawzjan province that provides work and training opportunities for over 250 women and girls in the fields of trade and life skills. Despite difficult circumstances, she has never given up and has always been at the service of the women of her province and neighboring regions.

Tamana Afshar – A Tireless Advocate for Women’s Economic Empowerment

Success Stories

A Vision of Sustainability

From mentorship and cooperative formation to fostering self-sustaining businesses, our commitment is to long-term impact. We ensure that our programs create ripple effects, helping not just individuals but entire communities to thrive well into the future, even in the country’s most underserved areas.

Join Us in Empowering Women

Compassionate Afghanistan invites you to be a part of this transformative movement. Together, we can provide Afghan women with opportunities that not only improve their lives but also shape the future of their families and communities.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can support this program or get involved, Contact Us or Join Our Mission Today. Together, we can create lasting change.