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The Afghan Institute of Learning, (known also as AIL), is a non-governmental, community-based organization that works primarily in Afghanistan, providing health and education services to both local Afghans and Afghan refugee populations in Pakistan. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, the Afghan Institute of Learning was established to address the problem of inadequate access to health care and educational services in Afghanistan, particularly for women and children.

Since 1996, the organization has educated over 320,000 students in 335 centers, brought training to over 23,000 teachers, treated 1.8 million patients in clinics and hospitals, and provided health education to 2.3 million women. AIL currently impacts nearly 1 million Afghans each year, and has served over eleven million Afghans in 11 provinces since its inception.

Mission
The long term goal of the Afghan Institute of Learning is to empower all Afghans who are vulnerable and in need by expanding their educational and economic opportunities, fostering critical thinking skills, promoting self-reliance, and encouraging community participation. AIL seeks to accomplish these goals by providing a foundation for quality education and good health through comprehensive education, training, and health services to Afghan women and children. Services are rendered through a number of learning centers, networking centers, and health clinics located throughout Afghanistan. No distinctions are made based on ethnicity, political affiliations, class, or gender.

Raising the educational, health, social, and economic levels of Afghans who are poor, distressed, underprivileged, oppressed, or otherwise in need is a primary goal of the organization. As of 2014, nearly two-thirds of the Afghan population are under the age of 25, and more than 70% of the population are functionally illiterate. Afghanistan currently has, by far, the highest infant mortality rate in the world, a very high maternal mortality rate, and has the lowest life expectancy at birth outside of Africa. With that in mind, AIL seeks to expand existing and develop new scholastic programs, vocational training, health education, health services, and teacher training programs to meet the needs of the communities where the organization operates. The intended result is to create sustainable and highly effective educational and healthcare infrastructure supported at the grassroots level.

The Afghan Institute of Learning promotes self-reliance and community participation among Afghans by involving the Afghans who are directly impacted in the decision-making process concerning their projects and programs. AIL requires community participation and contributions in all projects and programs receiving assistance.

Another goal of the organization is to bring general awareness and international recognition to the plight of the poorest Afghans, particularly those who lack necessities such as basic health care, education, and vocational training opportunities. Advancing the Millennium Development Goals as proposed by the United Nations, and furthering other UN educational programs in the region also remains part of AIL’s agenda.

Early Years
The founder of the organization, Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, worked with the International Rescue Committee from 1992-1995 to organize a series of tent schools to educate the Afghan refugee populations in Pakistan. They were successful in increasing enrollment in these schools from 3,000 in 1992 to over 15,000 by 1995. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 1995 and drastically cut funding for education and health care services, particularly for women. That same year, Dr. Yacoobi established the Afghan Institute of Learning as a response to the unambiguous and worsening education and health deficit in the country. The Taliban regime was notorious internationally for their misogynistic treatment of women. Women were banned from working, barred from most hospitals, prohibited from socializing, confined to their homes, and the education of girls was made a criminal offense, punishable by execution.

In spite of the punitive restrictions on education, AIL started its underground Home School Program, where young girls secretly attended school at the residences of AIL-supported teachers. Grades 1-8 were offered to the young women and girls who attended. Underground home schools were the only educational option available to Afghan women and girls for more than 4 years.

By 2001 AIL had 3,000 girls in 80 home schools in Jalalabad, Kabul, Herat, and Logar, and had trained more than 80 teachers. Mobile libraries in Herat and Jalalabad transported reading material between the underground schools. AIL had also initiated health programs in Kabul and Jalalabad and an income generating skills class in Herat. From 1999-2001, AIL provided health care and health education to nearly 55,000 women and children.

AIL Today
After Coalition Forces were charged with securing Afghanistan from the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan Institute of Learning relocated to Kabul and began establishing learning centers in communities to educate Afghan women and children of all ages in topics such as literacy, Arabic, tailoring, mathematics, English, and computer technology. The organization works with communities to create these centers of learning so as to ensure community involvement, contribution, and participation. Communities cooperate to secure space for AIL Learning Centers and also help to make certain that the students and teachers remain safe and secure in their lessons.

The organization has worked in 11 provinces and has educated over 320,000 women and children since it was established in 1995. AIL currently employs 425 staff, 80% of whom are women, and presently operates 38 learning centers and 8 medical clinics. The organization brings education to 25,000-30,000 students in their learning centers each year, a majority of whom are women and children. In 2013, AIL-supported clinics brought health services and education to over 140,000 people, services that include reproductive health, nutrition, and prevention and treatment of communicable diseases.

AIL is also actively involved in training teachers, offering capacity building workshops and seminars open to all educators. These workshops train teachers in how to effectively teach their students in methods such as active learning and associative learning, in stark contrast to the traditional Afghan methodology of rote memorization. AIL has trained over 23,000 teachers as of 2013, in turn reaching over 3.5 million students. Other capacity building workshops are offered to the general public, including seminars on the value of peace, justice, and human rights. Over 12,000 people have participated in these seminars since they started in 2001. More recently, AIL has been hosting workshops on elections and the democratic process, providing information on where to vote, how elections work, the value of voting in a democracy, and other topics in civics.