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Understanding the cause

Never lose sight of the purpose behind it all: who it is we serve and the impact of the work carried out. Get familar with the FAQ section to know the right answers.

It is essential for you to know before you start your fundraising effort that PartnershipsInAction is an initiative of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) and its network of volunteers across the U.S. to raise awareness and funds for innovative programs that create hope and opportunity for disadvantaged communities in the developing world. Its work in resourcepoor and remote communities in Africa and Asia has a direct impact on saving lives, educating girls, caring for mothers, helping farmers to grow better crops, and organizing communities to have more voice and choice in determining their future.

The real impact of what you do happens behind the scenes when the fruit of your labor reaches a struggling, disabled child in Zanzibar through the Improving Quality of Learning Program or enables a young woman to install a fuel efficient stove in her home through the Building and Construction Improvement Program. Think of a single mother of three in Pakistan who is now able to earn a living by stitching clothes, courtesy of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program. If you remember that, you will have an increased appreciation of the important role you play in changing lives in Africa and Asia.

Impact of Change

For a quarter century, AKF USA has been investing in people, extending a helping hand to communities and individuals so they may live with dignity and hope. Your contribution can make a tremendous impact on saving lives, educating children and helping families to lift themselves out of poverty. Here’s a glimpse at how far your contribution actually goes. 

• In 1989, diarrhea was the #1 killer of children under five globally. AKF was a pioneer in research and promotion of oral re-hydration therapy, an affordable treatment for diarrhea-related dehydration. By 2000, diarrhea-related deaths declined by half, preventing more than 1 million deaths every year.
• 2.5 million people have benefited directly from the Aga Khan Foundation’s rural support programs worldwide, with indirect beneficiaries reaching close to 12 million people in over 8,400 village organizations.
• In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, 260,000 students along with their parents and teachers have benefited from AKF’s School Improvement Program.
• Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance disbursed more than 150,000 loans to poor and low-income households in 2006, amounting to $109 million. These loans help build businesses, improve living standards and provide a pathway out of poverty.
• After civil war in Tajikistan, AKF’s agricultural reform program brought new land into production with the construction of irrigation channels and improved productivity with better farming techniques, enhanced seed varieties and crop diversification. In eastern Tajikistan, food self-sufficiency increased dramatically from 15% in 1993 to 80% by 2002.
• Since its inception in April 2006, the Partnership for Advancing Community Education in Afghanistan has set up 2,076 classes in 870 communities in 17 Afghan provinces, reaching 2,173 teachers (27% female) and nearly 60,000 students (69% girls) and trained 850 school management committees to monitor community-based education classes.
• Aga Khan Health Services cares for 1.8 million people annually and employs 8,000 staff, operating 320 medical facilities in East Africa, South and Central Asia, including primary health care clinics, diagnostic centers, women’s hospitals and referral hospitals.
• The Community-led Initiatives for Child Survival Project, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development is creating an affordable, decentralized health care system to reach nearly 90,000 people in 67 villages in the Wardha district of Maharashtra, India.