Sahar began as Journey with an Afghan School, a group founded to build bridges of understanding between the U.S. and Afghanistan for peace and cooperation in 2001. Since then, Sahar has expanded: building schools, and computer centers, and managing teacher training programs in Northern Afghanistan. Sahar became a stand-alone non-profit in 2009 in order to expand and continue our efforts. Sahar has worked in this war zone for nearly two decades to increase the status of girls and women in Afghanistan through education, enabling them to participate actively in the social, political, and economic arenas in their communities.
As of August 15th, 2021, the defacto regime in Afghanistan made continuing ongoing and past programs untenable. The Taliban has since banned women from most public spaces, from working in NGOs and pursuing education. Additionally, over a million Afghan girls were banned from attending school above 6th grade, effectively shattering all dreams of a brighter future for individuals and the country as a whole.
While many NGOs left Afghanistan, Sahar chose to realign our programs to continue serving our purpose within the confines of the new reality. This means many past programs were halted or put on hold until a time when we can take them up again. New programs were built in their place to provide hope where the Taliban has taken it away.