2007 AnnuAl RepoRt - Counterpart International

Literacy Courses Pay Off
“I never would have thought
that there would be a
girls’ class in our village
and I would teach them.
Thanks to Counterpart for
supporting our (girls) in
such a remote area.”
—Nasima, a 17-year-old teacher
in Takhar Province
[ 4 ] COuNTERPaRT INTERNaTIONaL 2007 aNNuaL REPORT
Sohaila, 35, joined the Afghan Women Education Center’s literacy course in
Paktia Province because she had always wanted to learn to read. Her husband,
a tailor, is illiterate. He often brings home clothes to work on in the evenings in
order to meet the customers’ deadlines, but he can’t read the written measurements
for the clothes without an assistant.
Now with Sohaila’s support, her husband meets all the customer’s deadlines
and the family’s income has increased considerably. Sohaila says that her husband
is very happy with her literacy course and he is determined to make sure their
children are also educated, both boys and girls. The Afghan Women Education
Center is one of the beneficiaries of Counterpart’s Initiative to Promote Afghan
Civil Society (I-PACS). Counterpart supports the Center’s project, entitled “Self–
Sufficiency and Advocacy: Increasing the Capacity of Women in Paktia Province.”
The Center not only runs literacy courses, but also has an income-generation
program for women, including a basic introduction to microfinance.
I-PACS aims to increase the role and viability of Afghanistan’s civil society.
Counterpart provides capacity building, training and grant support to civil society
organizations which show potential to be sustainable, effective organizations.
Counterpart has successfully integrated gender equity, a controversial issue in
the region, into its programming. Helping Afghans like Sohaila have access to
education, legal, social and economic resources, contributes to a healthy civil
society in which women play a critical role alongside men.
By providing training, consulting and grants to local network of civil society
support centers throughout Afghanistan, Counterpart is building their capacity
to provide such services to client civil society organizations in their geographic
areas. The broad outreach of this network enables Counterpart to reach even the
smallest grassroots organizations in the most remote areas.