Afghanistan is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, with an urgent lack of food to feed everyone during what will be an extremely cold winter. This Giving Tuesday, we are donating 20% of all our online sales to Turquoise Mountain, a charity we are proud to support through the Monsoon Accessorize Trust.
Turquoise Mountain has estimated that £150 will help a weaver family in Bamiyan get through a winter month – this includes an allowance for food, cooking fuel and heating. Turquoise Mountain is looking to support 40 households (about 350 people) in Bamiyan, the funds we raise are urgently needed to help these families get through the winter during this humanitarian crisis.
We support Turquoise Mountain to provide pre-primary education to young people in two villages located in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Today we want to highlight what Turquoise Mountain have done and are doing right now in this emergency situation in Bamiyan, and raise funds to help support families and the communities.
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Founded in 2006, Turquoise Mountain provides pre-primary education to the young people of two villages in Bamiyan in Afghanistan’s central highlands, providing essential childcare and preparing them for further education. Turquoise Mountain believes that by providing pre-primary education, we can ensure that children of weaver families succeed in future education.
Decades of conflict and limited governmental funding and capacity has made accessing quality education in Afghanistan challenging, with UNICEF estimating that “3.7 million children are out-of-school in Afghanistan – 60% of them are girls.”
Children who are not enrolled in school or who are prematurely removed from educational institutions are at high risk for child labour and exploitation.
The Turquoise Mountain schools address the issue by providing childcare for children who are too young to enrol in primary schools in areas with high concentrations of weaver families. Guardians can focus on employment while children are in a safe space dedicated to providing the foundational education and nutritional support essential to future growth and success.
Our Monsoon Accessorize Trust was set up in 1994 and we have worked with Turquoise Mountain, for a number of those years. From initiatives that support traditional crafts in Kabul, providing employment for artisans, to pre-primary education for young children, you can find out more about the amazing work they do on their website.