I’ve sponsored an orphanage for child refugees in Afghanistan and I’m inviting supporters of this site to help keep the orphanage running and sponsor some of the children.
I was inspired to do this partly because I know there’s a better way to deal with terrorism and human rights than bombing countries; and partly because I was fortunate enough to meet a brave, young Afghan woman (to protect her safety, I won’t use her name), who spoke passionately about her country at V-DAY in New Orleans.
This woman grew up without knowing peace in her country. Her parents were both killed. Her life as a woman in Afghanistan is terribly circumscribed. Working for basic human rights for her sisters puts her in real danger.
She said if there is one thing we can do to help the women of Afghanistan and the country as a whole, it is to support the education of young people.
That’s what the orphanages run by the Afghanistan Child Education & Care Organization (AFCECO) do: they provide shelter and education for boys and girls, bringing them up in an atmosphere of mutual respect. In fact, the more I know about these orphanages, the more I realise that they are the embodiment of hope for Afghanistan.
How to donate
If you feel moved to support this vital work, please do so directly through AFCECO. You can sponsor an orphan, provide materials for the schools, or sponsor an entire orphanage yourself. If you do so, please let me know by joining in the discussion at Hope for Afghan Children. This is a website I am also building for AFCECO sponsors, where we can network, share fundraising ideas, and learn more about Afghanistan.
Why is this a geekgirl thing?
You may be wondering how supporting orphanages in Afghanistan fits with a site about computers and the Internet.
To me, it’s a natural connection. I’ve been writing about computers for 28 years and I came to the computing field with the goal of making technology as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, especially to women.
I’ve been working with community organisations, including women’s refuges, rape crisis centres and human rights orgs, for even longer than I’ve been a geek.
And I don’t see any sense in technology unless it makes the world a better place.
Helping build an orphanage on the other side of the world by clicking a button on a web page seems to fit pretty well.