Caffe Lena is honored to host a fundraiser for a new project by The Giving Circle (TGC), a highly effective all-volunteer non-profit based in Saratoga. TGC connects communities in need around the globe with resources to help solve problems. This afternoon we will be raising funds for TGC's newest project, The Giving Circle Afghanistan.
The goals are:
- Build three new classrooms for the Wardak High School outside of Kabul to give 150 more children access to the school.
- Fund a program in Kabul that provides three months of teacher training to young women from the surrounding countryside, so that they can return to their communities as educators and role models. TGC Afghanistan will cover the full tuition, the cost of transportation, books and stationery, and lodging for 50 young women during training.
Nangyalai Attal will be the featured speaker at today's event. Attal is the founder of Hode Educational and Social Services Organization, and the recipient of the 2014 United Nations Youth Courage Award and the Award of Hopes and Challenges from the former president of Afghanistan. He was selected as one of twelve emerging leaders in Asia by the Asia Foundations Development Fellows in 2016. He has worked as the Director of Presidential Decrees and Orders at the Office of the President of Afghanistan, a National Expert of Jobs Policy and Decent Work with the International Labour Organization, an Education Adviser with the Kabul Educational Advising Center. A Fulbright Scholar and author of The State of the Labor Movement in Afghanistan, Attal is currently pursuing his doctorate in Policy & Leadership in International Education at UMass Amhersts College of Education. He has been committed since a young age to supporting education and peace in his home country, and his research has focused on higher education policies and how to create a more inclusive education system for women in Afghanistan.
Following Attal's presentation, there will be a screening of the powerful documentary "Girl Rising," which weaves the stories of nine young women from around the world, including Amina from Afghanistan, and details the struggles they face and overcome to get an education, and what the opportunity to go to school means for them and for their future.
Finally, a young student in Afghanistan will be joining the event through Skype following the film screening. She is a survivor of the 2016 insurgent attack on American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. She was injured in the attack, but has recovered and is currently studying in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She is living proof of the determination and bravery shown by thousands of young women in Afghanistan in the face of a traditional patriarchy and historic oppression.
Authentic Afghan food from regional restaurants will be available.
Location
Caffe Lena (View)
47 Phila Street
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
United States
