No-one can doubt that women’s lives in Afghanistan have been severely impacted by the change in government. But despite their situation being overshadowed by the war in Ukraine, many donors have been keen to increase their support for Afghan women and, as we specialise in helping them, our income has increased both steadily and significantly.
For our first 10 years, we were run in the UK by unpaid volunteers, but nearly two years ago Sophie Brown joined us as a paid part-time employee. She supports Lorna’s work organising fundraising and liaising with donors, John’s project management and, more recently, arranging the transfer of funds to Afghanistan.
Her contribution is invaluable, and we couldn’t have coped with the additional workload of the past couple of years without her.
Trustees work voluntarily
Frishta and Farzana Matin, the two sisters who worked for us in Kabul and escaped to Britain in 2021, have joined the board of Trustees. Existing Trustees work voluntarily and pay their own expenses.
Frishta and Farzana will continue to work for us, Farzana voluntarily alongside her full-time job with the Scottish Refugee Council. Frishta, at home with her pre-school child, Kia, will continue to be paid for the hours she works for us, but not for time spent on Trustee duties.
Our fund-raising success is due, in part, to our being able to state that every penny donated gets to Afghanistan.
They have both been an invaluable help to us managing the scholarship programme – a difficult task with so many students dropping out, leaving the country, changing universities to minimise journey time to and from their homes, and the general turmoil.
Negina, who monitors projects for the Foundation in Kabul, will soon be joined by an assistant.
Fund-raising success
Our fund-raising success is due, in part, to our being able to state that every penny donated gets to Afghanistan, as Trustees have paid all LNF UK expenses.
These have risen sharply to around £30,000 per year and, while Trustees’ donations in the last year have been enough, it’s now too much to sustain this is the long term. We have been fortunate to receive the support of a wealthy donor and two Trusts so we can continue to fund the administration costs.
Given the concern some donors have about high overheads of charities and their money not directly reaching those in need, we think it is important to emphasise the commitment, in both unpaid time and financial contributions, that the Trustees make.
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