Threads of Hope is a literacy and sewing project designed for underprivileged and economically disadvantaged girls and women aged 18-40 who have not had the opportunity to get a formal education. The program provides participants with free-of-cost literacy, and sewing skills classes. Additionally, graduates are gifted their sewing machine upon completion of the course.
Millions of women were denied an education during the first Taliban reign. Now with the second installment of the Taliban, it’s happening again. Many mothers are woefully uneducated and unable to help their children with basic reading, and often they suffer poor health outcomes because they do not understand hygiene or menstrual health, additionally, this new Taliban has plunged Afghanistan into further economic turmoil. Families need more than one income stream as food insecurity grows in Afghanistan but uneducated women have few opportunities to contribute in this way.
Women in this program are economically disadvantaged and will benefit from learning tailoring skills as well as learning to read and write. Additionally, women in this program will undergo a health and women’s empowerment curriculum that has been shown to improve mental health, reduce early marriages, and prevent women’s health complications due to misinformation. Every graduate of this program will be gifted a sewing machine, enabling them to start a home tailoring business.
The long-term impact of this program is to educate mothers and matriarchs enabling them to contribute financially to their families’ well-being and reducing hunger in their families and communities. Additionally, women in these programs will leave with the understanding and means to prevent their daughters from being married early due to poverty and the ability to help contribute to their children’s education. Lastly, each program graduate will go on to spread her knowledge to her community.
Round 1 of the Threads of Hope program in Kabul began in November 2023 with 40 women.
Threads of Hope Photo Gallery
