A Look Back at 2011

From graduating 30 community midwives in Pakistan and establishing them in their remote hometowns to provide vital health care, to launching a campaign for planting 1.5 million trees in Kenya, the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) and its partners have been busy!  

In 2011 we at AKF USA marked our 30th year to reduce global poverty and address its root causes. Activities critical to improving and saving lives have included:

  • Training thousands of Malian farmers in improved crop techniques, with a 14% rise in household income achieved by women gardeners
  • Reducing the risks of destruction and suffering in earthquake-prone communities in Afghanistan through disaster preparedness
  • Rebuilding resilience in Pakistan following the devastating floods in 2010 and 2011with medical treatment, shelter construction, market infrastructure and agricultural security
  • Expanding quality learning that reaches 400,000 students and over 12,000 teachers in Kenya
  • Providing scholarships for Afghan and Tajik students to study at the University of Central Asia

Supporting this work overseas, we celebrated the 17th year of PartnershipsInAction events closer to home. Partnership Walks and golf tournaments engaged Americans nationwide in the effort to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries in Asia and Africa. This year's theme, "Building Resilient Communities," linked the immediate needs of communities hit by disasters with their long-term needs for growing stronger than before. Partnership Walk 2011 engaged 31,000 participants and raised over $5 million, with Walks in Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Orlando and San Francisco.  At each one, the Village in Action showcased solutions of the Aga Khan Development Network, ranging from disaster preparedness in Afghanistan to energy-efficient homes in Pakistan to quality education and the tree-planting campaign in Kenya. Seven Partnership Golf tournaments together raised over $1 million for AKF USA projects.  

Despite the economic downturn, you, our friends across the country, generously supported the Foundation's work. We at AKF USA are immensely grateful to our volunteers, donors, and sponsors for being part of the solution to end global poverty.
 
New AKF USA Project Gives Egyptian Youth a Head Start!

The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance and the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA), together with AKF Egypt and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, have joined to help Egypt face these challenges with a new program called Head Start! for Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. This $3.89 million grant marks AKF USA's first U.S. government funding for programs in Egypt.

Starting in November 2011, Head Start! will improve youth's access to vocational training and help them start their own small businesses. Serving young men and women equally in low-income neighborhoods where the Aga Khan Development Network has been active for years, the project will identify a first set of youth applicants early in 2012.

Read more on how Head Start! will help young Egyptians get vocational training and start their own businesses.

 
Give Us Your Best Shot! Winner Announced

On December 1, we proudly announced the winner of the Give Us Your Best Shot! photo contest. With nearly 20 photo entries and 250 votes, the photo "Leaders of Tomorrow - iRun" by Azim Maknojia was voted as the winner. Congratulations to Azim Maknojia!

"Leaders of Tomorrow - iRun" shows a young girl at the start line of iRun holding her mother's hand. The iRun for youth was held prior to this year's Houston's Partnership Walk on Saturday, November 12. The photo portrays the partnership of two generations - mother and daughter - working together to end global poverty.

As the photo contest winner, "Leaders of Tomorrow - iRun" will be featured in our upcoming publications. The photo can already be seen on our blog and on AKF USA PartnershipsInAction Facebook page.

Congratulations again to Azim Maknojia for capturing the great work of PartnershipsInAction to end global poverty.
Texas High School Group Gets Credit for Making a Difference at Houston Walk

Karim Farishta, an 11th grader at the W.P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas, saw an opportunity that would help him and 70 other students in the school's Global Studies Academy. While taking part at Partnership Walk in Houston, about 25 miles away, they raised awareness about helping to reduce poverty in Africa and Asia. As a bonus, they would all get community service credit by participating.

Read the entire story that was featured on our blog here.