More than 7 million Afghans have no access to reading books in school and are learning to read from textbooks only. The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) purchases and publishes books for libraries for the 28,000 students (19,000 female) in AIL Learning Centers and the schools that it supports and supplies books to a public library in Herat. Students who have a variety of reading material expand their minds through reading diverse subject matter.

Afghans struggle for survival within their economy in part because they lack skills that employers want. Help 200 Afghan students learn computer and coding skills to fill the technical void and improve their lives and increase job opportunities.

Many Afghan boys want schooling but are too old or must work to help their families. Help 1,000 boys who have been refugees and/or soldiers get an education that will prepare them for successful, peaceful futures.

Afghan adolescent girls are key to the future of Afghanistan. To reach their potential, girls must be healthy, educated and trained to be leaders at home and in communities. The Afghan Institute of Learning's (AIL) fusion of education, health and training programming has been forming capable adolescent girls for over two decades. Each year, AIL aims to provide education, health services and training in human rights, leadership and health to at least 70,000 adolescent girls.

This project supports rural Learning Centers for Afghan Women in Herat Province, Afghanistan. The centers provide educational classes and income generating skills instruction, as well as giving students information on topics such as health, democracy, elections, self- care both physical and mental and leadership skills. The centers also provide opportunities to attend workshops on such things as children's rights and violence against women.

We have combined projects Radio Meraj and TV Meraj! Reaching many more Afghans with education to empower them to improve their lives. Some people live too far from an AIL Learning Center or do not feel safe to travel. Reaching these people with education through broadcast media is an effective means and a popular solution. Radio Meraj has been going since 2015 providing educational programs and TV Meraj will soon start broadcasting. Both stations are housed in AIL's Herat office building.

At least 1,000 women each month will learn tailoring and how to run a small tailoring business from their homes. Women enter the course not knowing the basics; they leave with a means to a livelihood and the capacity to provide for their own families sewing needs.

AIL empowers Afghan women by expanding their educational and health opportunities, fostering self-reliance and community participation. AIL provides education from preschool through post secondary level. An educated and health-aware woman is more likely to succeed personally, contribute economically to family and so create self- supporting family units. Education elevates girls' standing in society, provides opportunity and is the way to close the gap in gender equality.

Education and action is needed to create sustained change. Everyone at our Learning Centers, health clinics, workshops, events, private schools, and listeners to Radio Meraj, get messages about the environment. We run projects that directly address climate change such as tree and shrub planting, clean up campaigns and resource management at centers. Individual action is encouraged e.g. buying and planting a tree. Mindsets need to change and everyone needs to take action.

Train 140 teachers to use interactive methodologies that improve learning for 84,000 students. AIL has been chosen to be one of only 14 organizations sanctioned by the government to train teachers in a special 5 year project. AIL has begun its work and the main focus is on training teachers in rural areas of Afghanistan.

Educating females is the best way to accelerate equality in society for women and girls. Many female refugees lose out on education when they are displaced, either to a foreign country or internally in Afghanistan. We provide fast track classes in literacy, mobile literacy (learning through texting), tailoring, computing, English and other subjects to thousands of women and girls. Many of our students are former refugees, returned from Iran or Pakistan or internally displaced persons.

In Afghanistan, we run medical clinics, mobile units and Community Health Worker posts reaching 16,000 patients (65-70% female) each month in rural or poor urban areas. These clinic services are the only medical option for tens of thousands of people, providing treatment for injury and illness, preventive care, health education, reproductive health care, vaccinations and nutrition services. Only healthy people can work or study and properly take care of their families.

Sewing classes are very popular as they give women a skill they can use to earn money as well as do their own family sewing. AIL Staff maintain and repair the machines as needed. Unfortunately, some of these machines have broken beyond repair. While the women in class usually share the sewing machines, there are now more women using each machine. Providing a Learning Center with a new sewing machine will solve this problem.

Poor Afghans in Afghanistan are particularly vulnerable in times of disaster, whether natural or economic. Those without jobs, food or homes face starvation in harsh winter weather or after other natural disasters or following displacement. In recent years, there have been landslides, earthquakes and flooding incidents where we have been able to provide help.