Quality education has become increasingly out of reach for many Afghan children due to a combination of systematic restrictions, infrastructure challenges, decades of conflict, rising poverty, and reduced international support for education. Many schools are now extremely under-resourced, lacking even the basics such as classrooms, desks, and textbooks.

In October, I spent a few days with Afghan diaspora leaders from across the world, a rare and much-needed space to connect, reflect, and strengthen trust.

Uplift Afghanistan Fund and the Civic Engagement Project were given the extraordinary chance to honor Ustad Mahwash at Atelier Jolie (formerly Jean-Michel Basquiat’s home & studio).

We were honored to participate in this year’s Paris Peace Forum as part of the Scale-Up Program for the second year in a row, joining global leaders and local changemakers shaping pathways toward peace and shared prosperity.

Dear friends,

In August of 2024, I returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban takeover. What I saw reminded me that there is no single story of Afghanistan. Its truths are as varied as its people and circumstances.

Mahwash: A Documentary Film, directed by Sam Javadi and supported by Uplift’s Arts & Culture Fund, follows the remarkable journey of Ustad Mahwash—Afghanistan’s first female maestro and a pioneering voice in Afghan music. Her story transcends borders and celebrates the strength of the human spirit.

The environmental impact of war and armed conflict links us all together as a global community in ways we may not always realize.

This week, Uplift’s Director of Humanitarian Relief, Hila-Nawa Alam, attended the 2024 Paris Peace Forum to meet with leaders and grassroots organizations seeking sustainable solutions to urgent problems around the world.

This month we celebrate the third anniversary of the founding of Uplift Afghanistan Fund. Your unwavering support over the last three years has allowed us to carry out our mission to reimagine aid work through projects ranging from mental health to cultural preservation, girls’ education, women’s economic empowerment, and so much more—all led by the local communities we serve.

Last week, Uplift’s Executive Director, Ilaha Eli Omar, traveled to Afghanistan to visit with our local partners and see firsthand the progress of the many projects we've implemented with your support. Among the communities Ilaha visited was Parwana, where she attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the successful completion of the first phase of our ongoing project to rebuild Herat.

When refugee children are offered educational opportunities, they enthusiastically take them. That’s what we’ve learned through our partnership with AB Academy, an educational institution in Pakistan for Afghan refugee children.

For International Women’s Day this year, we want to highlight the unique mental health challenges faced by Afghan women and girls.

In October 2023, three massive earthquakes shook Herat; destroying entire villages, taking thousands of lives, and displacing many more. With so many people left vulnerable—families with children, families who lost their livelihoods because of the destruction—we knew we needed to do more to help with long-term resilience and recovery. 

In October, feelings of fear and disorientation took hold when it was announced that Afghans living in Pakistan had one month to leave or face dire legal consequences.

Uplift was featured this week in the Financial Times’ “How To Spend It” section for our earthquake relief response and ongoing permanent housing project in Herat, Afghanistan.

On October 3rd, 2023, Pakistan gave migrants and refugees without residence papers only 28 days to leave the country or face arrest, detention, and forcible expulsion. The situation is further exacerbated by the Pakistani government restricting those being expelled to bring the equivalent of only $178 USD of their own money upon leaving; in effect dispossessing many of their hard-earned wealth, homes, belongings, and businesses.

We’re proud to partner with Sustainable Economic & Livelihood Development Organization (SELDO) to provide training in sustainable farming techniques to extremely vulnerable and disaster-affected families, many of whom are women-headed, in the Jaghato District of Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

Thanks to the compassion and generosity of our donors, we’ve been able to support, in collaboration with CDDO, emergency relief efforts in Herat over the last week and a half.

Today is #InternationalDayoftheGirl—a day to recognize the incredible potential and capacity of girls. As an organization founded and led by women, one of our main goals is to implement projects in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees that protect and empower women and girls to be financially and socially independent despite the unjust and highly restrictive limitations imposed on their freedom and rights.

This month marks the second anniversary of the founding of Uplift Afghanistan. As an organization founded and led by Afghan women, we have dedicated the past two years to working with international allies to ensure the safety of human rights defenders, journalists, ethnic minorities, and other at-risk Afghans. Within Afghanistan, we have transparently and equitably delivered aid to vulnerable female-headed households, people with disabilities, the elderly, and all manner of Afghans in need.