Education and Health Afghanistan

CHI has been helping the Afghan people for over 30 years working in refugee camps and Afghan communities. CHI empowers Afghans by providing support to programs of health and educational services, community building, leadership and human rights and culture revival.

In furtherance of its goal of self-sufficiency for Afghans, CHI provides technical assistance to three private schools and a private gynecological and surgical hospital founded by the Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), Dr. Sakena Yacoobi.

The schools are based on the Profit for Non-Profit ideology where the tuition paid by students who can afford it helps to support students who cannot. Even though these schools have scholarship students, all three schools are financially self-sufficient. In addition, the schools permit AIL to operate Learning Centers in their facilities so that students who are not school-aged, or are married, can take classes and become literate and acquire job skills.

Although the private hospital, opened early in 2011, is still only 90% financially self-sufficient, it is already providing health services at little or no cost to those who cannot afford them. AIL understands that Afghans need to learn to take care of themselves as international interest declines. AIL’s assistance in developing this Profit for Non-Profit program in these schools and the hospital is contributing to a huge step forward for these Afghan communities.

Private Schools
CHI provides additional funding to schools to fill the gap between fees and running costs. This support takes the form of teacher training and administrative training for staff.

Private School (AIL photo)

Private Hospital
A private surgical and gynecological hospital in Heart was recently built it started providing services in Feb 2010 and was fully opened in 2011. The hospital now treats approximately 2,000 patients a month. The facility has a laboratory, pharmacy and surgical, x-ray, CT scan capabilities and specialists in internal medicine, maternity, and orthopedics. The hospital is arranged on four floors and totals 1,192 sq meters where 200 patients can be seen each day from all over the southwest region of the country.

Part of the hospital facilities

CHI believes in bolstering private sector development in Afghanistan and in promoting the attitude of self care and responsibility in patients who can contribute financially to their care. This looks to the day in the future when Afghans are fully self supporting and their society completely rebuilt and functioning efficiently, effectively and is sustainable.

Private Hospital Herat

CHI also partners closely with the Afghan Institute of Learning
CHI’s project partner the Afghan Institute of Learning has always sought to charge some sort of fee for its services so as not to perpetuate an attitude of entitlement and to encourage self reliance. In some instances fee charging has not been possible because of government regulations. AIL’s approach to project start ups includes the requirement that communities contribute something, not so much money as land or supplies or a building. Again this approach seeks to engage the people and create a sense of ownership and responsibility which means projects are valued and nurtured and protected – a recipe for success and longevity.