Central Asia Institute / Ikat silks

Link to: Central Asia Institute

Peace and Hope Begin With Education: One Child At A Time

Central Asia Institute was founded by Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea, after he'd been working in the region for about three years.

Central Asia Institute’s mission is to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The philosophy is to empower the local people through their own initiative. As of 2010, Central Asia Institute has successfully established 145 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide (or have provided) education to over 64,000 students, with a emphasis on girls’ education. Over the first decade of CAI’s evolution, our programs and projects expanded to several regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan with an emphasis on education, health issues, environment and cultural preservation.

Central Asia Institute community projects continue to focus primarily in remote, underserved regions where few organizations serve. Since 2005, CAI refined and focused its priority to focus mainly on rural education, literacy, teacher training, and scholarships, especially for females. CAI also continues to pioneer and promote education in regions where there are few or no education opportunities. They now put more resources into sustainable initiatives, to improve the quality of education, support teacher training, and help motivated students to achieve their education goals with higher education.

www.ikat.org