Help the Afghan Children

Established in 1993. Providing innovative, quality educational programs that make a tangible difference to Afghan children, allowing them to become productive citizens and promoting a peaceful, stable Afghanistan. 888-403-0407

Why do we exist?

Help the Afghan Children (HTAC) was established to improving the lives of children of Afghanistan.  Our mission is to help Afghan children become educated, healthy, and productive citizens who are able to fully contribute to building Afghanistan’s civil society.  Since 1993 we have been giving Afghan children a reason for hope and a better future.

At HTAC, we are committed in working with the Afghan government and other partners to create a vibrant educational system that helps prepare Afghan children for the challenges ahead.  We believe that only through a serious, long-term investment in education can Afghanistan break the vicious cycle of war, poverty, poor health conditions, and civil unrest that has plagued this country for almost 30 years. 

In recent years, HTAC has focused its attention on developing and delivering innovative, quality educational programs, services, and support to address the rapidly emerging and changing educational needs of Afghanistan where our experience and expertise can make a tangible difference to thousands of children by giving them to knowledge and tools to grow up and become productive citizens and future leaders of their country.

What have you accomplished?

Since 1993, Help the Afghan Children (HTAC) has directly impacted and improved the lives of over 1.5 million children and their families through its humanitarian aid efforts, health care support, and  education programs.  Over the years, HTAC has delivered humanitarian aid and emergency relief to tens of thousands of men, women, and children during war, civil unrest, and in response to natural disasters.  During the repressive rule of the Taliban, we established ‘safe’ home-based schools for girls (who were prevented from going to school).  HTAC established health clinics in two provinces that treated an average of 100,000 patients a year as well as vocational training programs including a bicycle repair program for amputees.

Since 2002, HTAC has been a leader in developing and delivering innovative, quality-driven educational programs that have made a tangible difference in the lives of thousands of children, their families, and the communities where they live.  We were one of the first organizations to introduce and implement public model schools that offer a challenging, invigorating curriculum to children and provide a template for Afghanistan’s future educational infrastructure.  To date we have established nine model schools that serve an average of 15,000 children each year.  HTAC was the first organization to introduce computers and computer education into Afghan public classrooms and this program is successfully providing Afghan girls and boys computer skills to find jobs in the country’s emerging information technology marketplace.  We have introduced new concepts such as peace and environmental education into schools that are changing children’s behavior about ways to resolve conflict non-violently and to take personal responsibility for the care of their ravaged land.  Our unique “Read Afghanistan” storybook program has dramatically increased literacy levels among primary school students and our highly-respected teacher training program was one of the first to require the achievement of specific competency standards for all our teachers.  HTAC has been active in developing community school committees that build strong participation and ownership of our schools and programs from members of the local communities we serve.  In addition, HTAC has established some of the first cultural exchange programs in Afghanistan between Afghan schools and ‘sister’ schools in the United States.

In Paghman at the Abdulla bin Omar Primary School, there is a story of an 8-year-old girl named Mariam.  She sits with a big smile on her face and when asked why she is smiling, she replies, “Last year I used to study under the walnut trees.  It was very hot.  I didn’t have any notebooks or pencils.  My father would sometimes bring me a notebook and a pencil and sometimes he would say that ‘I have not received my salary’.  But this year Help the Afghan Children has given us notebooks and pencils and has built our school with chairs and desks to sit on in new classrooms.  We also have excellent teachers who have much knowledge to provide us.  I am very excited to start the new year in this school.”

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