NEWS-IN-BRIEF

March 2015

VIDEO: Who is Central Asia Institute? 


Go beyond the headlines and discover the real Central Asia Institute. 

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Back to school in Afghanistan
Kids leaving school

Monday, March 23, marked Back to School Day in Afghanistan.

 

The same day, during a visit to the Pentagon, President Ashraf Ghani spoke directly to a 9-year-old girl in the audience whose father is deployed in Afghanistan with the U.S. military.

 

"Reese, I have greetings to you from 3 million Afghan girls who are attending school today," Ghani said. "Fourteen years ago, there were exactly none. Each one of them wants to entertain the hopes you do, and your dad is making this possible, and remember, he is there to make a difference."

Asking the right questions in the face of controversy

Greg Mortenson speaking with school children
Sometimes even smart people ask the wrong question.

 

In his Feb. 23 Stanford Social Innovation Review op-ed, "So What's It Take to Get Fired Around Here?", Kevin Starr did just that, rehashing details from the 2011 controversy surrounding Central Asia Institute and Greg Mortenson and his books, Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools.


So what's the right question? Let's start with: Why didn't CAI fire Greg Mortenson? 

 

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Today a reader, tomorrow a leader
Welcome CAI sign

Colorado teacher Karen Hayes was raised in Nigeria. Her mother always emphasized the importance of education, especially for girls. So when she read about CAI, she saw a great teaching opportunity. In February, she kicked off a Pennies for Peace campaign with a "Three-Tea Party" for her seventh-grade students. 


 

"I wanted our students to understand that they are so privileged in America," Hayes said. "They can be educated without fear of abandonment, death, or kidnapping. Even though our students come from an impoverished community, I wanted them to see how other students have far less, but are motivated to be educated."
'The Worth of a Girl'
Bertha Pratt King

In celebration of Women's History Month, CAI remembered Bertha Pratt King. King's 1916 book, "The Worth of a Girl," outlined her belief that "every girl should be able to earn her own living, that she should be trained to some pursuit of her own happiness, and that she should become a useful member of society."


Nearly 100 years later, women in the regions CAI serves - and around the world - still battle for the same fundamental rights American women sought, and won, a century ago. 

 

King's story is a good reminder that none of this comes easily.

Read a story aloud

World Read Aloud Day


 The first Wednesday in March marked World Read Aloud Day, when millions of adults and children in 80 countries celebrated the power of simply reading aloud - and the right of every child to be literate and have an education. 

 


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OUR VISION:

Central Asia Institute (CAI) works with communities in remote areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, to promote education, especially for girls. At home and abroad, CAI is committed to sharing its expert knowledge with the public. Together we can cultivate peace, nurture hope, and change the world, one child at a time. 
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