Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation
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We are Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation, a US-based nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting women and girls in rural Afghanistan through free community-based education. We are asking for your help to raise $50,000 to fund a critical educational health program, “My Body, My Health.” This unique and carefully designed program is aimed to empower the girls and young women of Deh’Subz through education about women’s health and well-being, while providing a safe environment for young women to ask questions and gain knowledge about their health and their children’s health.
The Problem:
Due to gender-based social, economic, political, and cultural obstacles, women and girls in Afghanistan suffer disproportionately greater and specific negative health outcomes. Obstacles include child marriage and subsequent pregnancy and child rearing, most often resulting in a cyclic effect passed on to future generations. Our organization has seen girls pulled out of our school as early as age 10 to be married off to distant relatives.
In their roles as wives and mothers, young women and girls bear a significant responsibility for the well-being of their families and communities. More than half of Afghan girls are married before the age of 19. According to the UNPF about 40% of girls are married between ages 10 to 13 years, 32% at age 14, and 27% at age 15. A lack of information and education often leaves women and girls exposed to health risks and is a factor in Afghanistan’s high mortality rates for both mothers and children during childbirth, and for children during the first five years of life.
Our Solution:
Women (and girls’) health is an unspoken subject in many parts of Afghanistan. To address the significant absence of both women and girls’ health education, the objective of Razia’s Ray of Hope (RRH) Foundation’s “My Body, My Health” program is to provide the girls and young women of Deh’Subz a culturally appropriate, community-supported education in health and wellness. The program empowers Afghan girls and women by educating them on vital health and wellness practices, as well as providing community-based healthcare resources.
While we cannot force abrupt change upon a culture with longstanding traditions around marriage and childbirth, our organization has observed that we can significantly shift attitudes and standards with meaningful, culturally attuned programming. The My Body, My Health program is currently operating in its pilot stage, with e-teaching support from Razia Jan Institute (RJI).
The curriculum includes:
- A Woman’s Body: essential information and knowledge of the physical attributes of a woman’s body and its needs.
- Puberty, Menstrual Health, and Fertility: Education related to girls’ puberty, menstrual health, and fertility needs. With the high rate of early marriage for girls in Afghanistan it’s essential to provide them the education and understanding of the various facets related to girls’ puberty, menstrual health, and fertility needs.
- Prenatal, Postpartum, and Maternal Newborn Health: Resources to address prenatal, pregnancy, postpartum, and maternal newborn health and wellness needs to begin to reverse the troubling maternal health-related risks and challenges women encounter across Afghanistan including the students at the Zabuli Education Center (ZEC).
- Nutrition for Women and Children: Education for the students at the ZEC to gain a working understanding of essential nutrition needs for women, infants, and children.
- Women’s Mental Wellness: A non-stigmatized confidential environment for the students at the ZEC to share their concerns and to introduce to them wellness mechanisms to support their mental health.
We will be forever grateful for your donations, however big or small.
Sharing this page with family or friends is a similarly meaningful contribution.
Where Will These Funds Go?
All funds raised through this page will go directly to expanding the My Body, My Health Program curriculum and its impact throughout the community. In the twenty-four month grant period, there will be approximately 400 direct beneficiaries, all of whom are female in grades 6-12. Funding will include the associated supplies/materials (curriculum materials, medical models, posters, etc.) as well as the cost of salaries for staff to successfully implement the program over a twenty-four month period. Funds will be used for the 2022 and 2023 school years, which would begin in March of 2022 and support programming for twenty-four months, during which students in 6th-12th grade will participate in a weekly “My Body, My Health” course over the duration of the respective school year.
About Us:
Razia’s Ray of Hope is the foundation behind Afghanistan’s Zabuli Education Center (ZEC) and Razia Jan Institute (RJI).
Before 2008, Deh’Subz, the rural community where ZEC is located, had never educated girls. Over the past thirteen years, our presence has generated a dramatic shift in the community’s acceptance, and eventual demand, for girls’ education. ZEC has become an integral part of the community, as families have begun to realize the value of educating their daughters, witnessing firsthand the societal progress than an educated girl can create. While our doors first opened to a mere few dozen students, the school has grown by more than 600% over the last decade, with a 93% attendance rate, 85% retention rate, 99% passing rate, and a 100% graduation rate of matriculated 12th grade students. Currently, 83% of graduates have enrolled in a post-secondary academic program. More info in this video here .
While ZEC educates girls from kindergarten through secondary school, RJI was built in 2017 to allow ZEC’s first group of graduates an opportunity to continue their education. A tuition-free, two-year midwifery training school that facilitates health-sector employment, graduates from RJI become community healthcare workers, providing life-saving services to severely medically-underserved communities while improving social, health, and economic outcomes for themselves and their families.
Learn more about the Foundation and our schools at the Razia's Ray of Hope website.
This project is supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance.
Your donation to benefit this campaign/project will be allocated to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund (“GOA Fund”), a project of GoFundMe.org (a U.S. public charity). The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund may grant a refund in limited circumstances at its sole and absolute discretion, however, donations are not refundable after the GoFundMe payment platform has transferred your donation to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund. Transfers from GoFundMe to Girls Opportunity Alliance fund typically occur once monthly. All donations are subject to the variance power of GoFundMe.org, as stated in the applicable GoFundMe.org policies (https://www.gofundme.org/policies/). Subject to applicable law, donations may be tax-deductible.
The GOA Fund is restricted to supporting girls' education and your donation is made for the support of the above described project. Notwithstanding that the campaign description may name a specific organization that is anticipated to engage in the projects, GoFundMe.org retains variance power, that is, discretion and control over how funds are disbursed within the purposes of the GOA Fund generally, and within the purpose of the project specifically. For example, if the project does not reach its minimum fundraising goal, GoFundMe.org may re-assign money raised to another campaign within the GOA Fund.
As of April 11, 2019, the Direct Impact Fund operates as GoFundMe.org.
The Problem:
Due to gender-based social, economic, political, and cultural obstacles, women and girls in Afghanistan suffer disproportionately greater and specific negative health outcomes. Obstacles include child marriage and subsequent pregnancy and child rearing, most often resulting in a cyclic effect passed on to future generations. Our organization has seen girls pulled out of our school as early as age 10 to be married off to distant relatives.
In their roles as wives and mothers, young women and girls bear a significant responsibility for the well-being of their families and communities. More than half of Afghan girls are married before the age of 19. According to the UNPF about 40% of girls are married between ages 10 to 13 years, 32% at age 14, and 27% at age 15. A lack of information and education often leaves women and girls exposed to health risks and is a factor in Afghanistan’s high mortality rates for both mothers and children during childbirth, and for children during the first five years of life.
Our Solution:
Women (and girls’) health is an unspoken subject in many parts of Afghanistan. To address the significant absence of both women and girls’ health education, the objective of Razia’s Ray of Hope (RRH) Foundation’s “My Body, My Health” program is to provide the girls and young women of Deh’Subz a culturally appropriate, community-supported education in health and wellness. The program empowers Afghan girls and women by educating them on vital health and wellness practices, as well as providing community-based healthcare resources.
While we cannot force abrupt change upon a culture with longstanding traditions around marriage and childbirth, our organization has observed that we can significantly shift attitudes and standards with meaningful, culturally attuned programming. The My Body, My Health program is currently operating in its pilot stage, with e-teaching support from Razia Jan Institute (RJI).
The curriculum includes:
- A Woman’s Body: essential information and knowledge of the physical attributes of a woman’s body and its needs.
- Puberty, Menstrual Health, and Fertility: Education related to girls’ puberty, menstrual health, and fertility needs. With the high rate of early marriage for girls in Afghanistan it’s essential to provide them the education and understanding of the various facets related to girls’ puberty, menstrual health, and fertility needs.
- Prenatal, Postpartum, and Maternal Newborn Health: Resources to address prenatal, pregnancy, postpartum, and maternal newborn health and wellness needs to begin to reverse the troubling maternal health-related risks and challenges women encounter across Afghanistan including the students at the Zabuli Education Center (ZEC).
- Nutrition for Women and Children: Education for the students at the ZEC to gain a working understanding of essential nutrition needs for women, infants, and children.
- Women’s Mental Wellness: A non-stigmatized confidential environment for the students at the ZEC to share their concerns and to introduce to them wellness mechanisms to support their mental health.
We will be forever grateful for your donations, however big or small.
Sharing this page with family or friends is a similarly meaningful contribution.
Where Will These Funds Go?
All funds raised through this page will go directly to expanding the My Body, My Health Program curriculum and its impact throughout the community. In the twenty-four month grant period, there will be approximately 400 direct beneficiaries, all of whom are female in grades 6-12. Funding will include the associated supplies/materials (curriculum materials, medical models, posters, etc.) as well as the cost of salaries for staff to successfully implement the program over a twenty-four month period. Funds will be used for the 2022 and 2023 school years, which would begin in March of 2022 and support programming for twenty-four months, during which students in 6th-12th grade will participate in a weekly “My Body, My Health” course over the duration of the respective school year.
About Us:
Razia’s Ray of Hope is the foundation behind Afghanistan’s Zabuli Education Center (ZEC) and Razia Jan Institute (RJI).
Before 2008, Deh’Subz, the rural community where ZEC is located, had never educated girls. Over the past thirteen years, our presence has generated a dramatic shift in the community’s acceptance, and eventual demand, for girls’ education. ZEC has become an integral part of the community, as families have begun to realize the value of educating their daughters, witnessing firsthand the societal progress than an educated girl can create. While our doors first opened to a mere few dozen students, the school has grown by more than 600% over the last decade, with a 93% attendance rate, 85% retention rate, 99% passing rate, and a 100% graduation rate of matriculated 12th grade students. Currently, 83% of graduates have enrolled in a post-secondary academic program. More info in this video here .
While ZEC educates girls from kindergarten through secondary school, RJI was built in 2017 to allow ZEC’s first group of graduates an opportunity to continue their education. A tuition-free, two-year midwifery training school that facilitates health-sector employment, graduates from RJI become community healthcare workers, providing life-saving services to severely medically-underserved communities while improving social, health, and economic outcomes for themselves and their families.
Learn more about the Foundation and our schools at the Razia's Ray of Hope website.
This project is supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance.
Your donation to benefit this campaign/project will be allocated to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund (“GOA Fund”), a project of GoFundMe.org (a U.S. public charity). The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund may grant a refund in limited circumstances at its sole and absolute discretion, however, donations are not refundable after the GoFundMe payment platform has transferred your donation to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund. Transfers from GoFundMe to Girls Opportunity Alliance fund typically occur once monthly. All donations are subject to the variance power of GoFundMe.org, as stated in the applicable GoFundMe.org policies (https://www.gofundme.org/policies/). Subject to applicable law, donations may be tax-deductible.
The GOA Fund is restricted to supporting girls' education and your donation is made for the support of the above described project. Notwithstanding that the campaign description may name a specific organization that is anticipated to engage in the projects, GoFundMe.org retains variance power, that is, discretion and control over how funds are disbursed within the purposes of the GOA Fund generally, and within the purpose of the project specifically. For example, if the project does not reach its minimum fundraising goal, GoFundMe.org may re-assign money raised to another campaign within the GOA Fund.
As of April 11, 2019, the Direct Impact Fund operates as GoFundMe.org.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kate Harrigan
Organizer
Afghanistan
Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, A Project Of GoFundMe.org
Beneficiary