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Written by AWEC Executive Team
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Wednesday, 28 January 2009 06:48 |
AWEC is a non-political, non-profit and non-governmental, woman-headed local organization. AWEC was established in 1991 by a group of educated Afghan women who rallied together to address the lack of facilities for Afghan refugees in Islamabad Pakistan. It soon became evident that beside providing basic support (training, awareness raising, and literacy training) there was also a lack of educational opportunities for refugee children. For addressing this need AWEC initially started its activities by establishing a secondary school in Islamabad, Pakistan to pursue education for Afghan refugees living in the area now a high school serving both girls and boys. AWEC has also been active in collaborating with other agencies and individuals in the establishment of networks and groups including Afghan Women's Network(AWN) Irfan Cultural Center and Rozan. Additionally, AWEC supported thousands of Afghan refuges through its direct relief project in early 2001 in Peshawar, Pakistan.
AWEC has always been interested in peace and as early as 1996 held a three-day peace education exhibition of stories and drawings by children in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi schools, with AWN. It also eliminated violent texts in the Shahid Wali Khan Junior and High School (SWKJHS) curriculum.
In 1997, AWEC collaborated with the National Bureau of Sustainable Development (NBSD) to form the Center for Street Children and Women in Peshawar. NBSD had past experience of working with street children and AWEC had experience of working with women. This center was established to respond to the needs of the increasing numbers of refugees, particularly since 1995, in the Peshawar area. It was designed as an integrated program aiming to work with families; targeting not just street children but also their mothers. The children were provided with informal education so as to re-integrate them into schools, whilst their mothers were given the opportunity to learn new skills to increase their chances of creating income for themselves and their families so that their children do not have to work. Women who participated in the vocational training programs were also taught literacy and health education, and given the opportunity to participate in support groups to discuss problems and support one other. Adolescent boys were trained in skills such as welding and carpentry and children at the school are given a stipend for the loss of income to their families.
The center in Pakistan offered a health service which was expanded to provide counseling and included a reproductive and maternal health service which supplies both direct medical care and health education to the Afghani and local Pakistani population. Since its inception the center had helped hundreds of women and children to improve their lives and increase their opportunities for the future. In 2003 AWEC duplicated this center in Kabul, where the experience of successfully running this project in Peshawar enabled us to provide an extremely valuable service to the needy women and children in Kabul.
Direct relief was distributed to thousands of refugees in the Afghan Relief project in early 2001, and funds are still distributed as received to support local schools and needy individuals in early 2003. Examples of how the donations are used include paying for teachers and resources for refugee schools, providing cement to a school in a refugee camp, and supporting schools that work with girls. AWEC has also supported 20 boys in receiving English classes, as well as educating boys on using computers.
Since its inception AWEC works to support vulnerable women and children through initiating programs/projects that aims to change women’s living condition and promote children sustain a better life. In addition, AWEC is committed to advocate and lobby for women’s rights and child rights and support marginalized women by initiating projects such as support to prisoner women and their children.
Through its projects for women AWEC undertake activities including awareness rising for women’s rights, training workshops on different topics including vocational trainings, capacity building, psycho-social wellness trainings, health education, literacy, peace education etc. One of the core activities of AWEC is to support women through mobilizing the community for elimination of violence against women. This aim is being achieved through establishment of women’s shuras that closely work with the community to improve women’s status in their family and community at large. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 19 March 2009 05:56 |
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