The positive impact of education in the lives of children in Afghanistan is undeniable.

When we educate children, we change their future and their sense of their own potential. By educating over 20,000 Afghan children, we impact the lives of thousands more by positively influencing their families. The results are profound.

Study after study has shown that education is a building block to eliminating hunger and poverty, as well as increasing a family’s health and well-being:

• A quality education helps people develop skills that allow them to make healthier decisions for themselves and their children, leading to decreases in harmful traditional practices, like early childhood marriage and child slavery.
• One quarter of all Afghan children die before age 5, but children of mothers with a full primary education are 40% more likely to survive to age 5.
• The largest contributing factor to reducing child malnutrition has been the education of women—even more so than direct food aid.
• Educated children grow up to earn higher wages, contribute to stronger economies, support healthier and more prosperous families, and create more stable and secure societies.
• Educated leads to lower maternal mortality rates and decreased birth rates.
• Education is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of AIDS and has been called a “social vaccine.” For girls with primary education, their risk of infection is reduced by 25%—for those with secondary education, the risk is reduced by 50%.