- Educator and founder of Afghan Institute of Learning
Sakena Yacoobi had the conviction that education is the only hope for the suffering Afghan refugees scarred by decades of war.
In 1995, she founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) and provided education and vocational training to 13 million refugees and contributed greatly to the improvement of Muslim women’s rights and social status. Even under life-threatening circumstances of the Taliban regime, Dr. Yacoobi educated more than 3,000 girls in over 80 underground schools. Unlike the first generation of Afghan refugees, whose pioneering efforts were devastated by despair and poverty, the second and third generation refugees have become leaders for their community's reconstruction.
Devoted her life to Afghan refugee education
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, known as the mother of Afghan education, has been a pioneering and devoted educator of refugees for 24 years working under the conviction that education is key to social reconstruction.
Dr. Yacoobi began educating teachers and establishing schools for boys and girls in Afghan refugee camps where people were struggling to survive after decades of war and a complete collapse of the education and the health system. In 1995, she established the Afghan Institute for Learning (AIL) to provide systematic refugee education and provided education and vocational training to 13 million women and children. Despite the Taliban regime's ban on women's schools, AIL successfully operated and educated more than 3,000 girls.
Currently, AIL provides curricula for kindergarten through university education and 44 education centers provide basic literacy education and various vocational courses, opening the way for refugees to generate income. Under the aim of helping refugees to become independent citizens capable of critical thinking, AIL has been providing education in leadership, democracy, self-confidence, and capacity-building.
As a result, refugees who have been educated at AIL have improved their self-confidence, economic power, and problem-solving abilities and are successfully leading their community’s rebuilding process. The Afghan refugee community, which has experienced displacement for more than 30 years, now feels that education is a pathway to a better future and a key element for the country's reconstruction and that its educated young people will play a leading role in Afghanistan's future.
Presented a holistic solution to refugee resettlement
Dr. Yacoobi introduced a holistic approach to rebuilding communities destroyed by war. As a comprehensive and long-term approach to solving inadequate educational, economic, socio-cultural, and institutional constraints of refugee camps, it contributes to improving the overall quality of life and developing the community for Afghan refugees.
Creating Hope International (CHI), an organization co-founded by Dr. Yacoobi, provides technical assistance to four private schools, hospitals, and radio stations, including the Afghan Institute of Learning. Through its projects since 1996, CHI has provided health education to more than 2 million women and children significantly reducing infant mortality and maternal mortality rates during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides Love and Forgiveness workshops to help transform refugees who have been surrounded by social deprivation and anger into positive leaders who can revive their local communities. Its radio broadcasting reaches more than a million people a day and covers a diverse range of topics including social trends, health, family success models, human rights, literature, and music to support the desire of refugees for a peaceful and fruitful life.
All community rebuilding processes are carried out in cooperation with the community itself, allowing the community to build a sense of ownership in the project. By providing consultation and organizing projects that are needed by the community rather than providing one-sided aid, these projects have revolutionized the refugee resettlement dynamic, providing a win-win situation for both the local community and government agencies.
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Contributed to the improvement of human rights and the status of Muslim women
Dr. Yacoobi is committed to educating Muslim women with the belief that "to educate girls is to educate future generations." Afghanistan has the world's lowest literacy rate, with only 12.6% of women over 15 years of age being able to read and write. It is due to elements of Islamic culture opposing women's education and protracted conflicts. To address this serious situation, Dr. Yacoobi has been aggressively persuading community leaders and has changed prejudices about women's education. As a result, many women and children in Afghanistan and Pakistan are now educated. In recent years, Dr. Yacoobi even established a women’s university. She has provided family planning services and contraception advice, which has liberated women from unwanted childbirth and rearing. She also runs a women's legal counseling center in Afghanistan and provides legal advice services for women on issues such as domestic abuse, child custody, inheritance rights, and marriage without consent.
Women who were isolated in their homes are now able to receive education through Women's Networking Centers. They are given opportunities to take classes, read and learn, engage in income-generating activities, and participate in society. Through education, these women are able to plan their future, improve health, contribute economically to their families and guarantee the education of future generations. These educated women are playing a very important role in helping the Afghan refugees escape the cycle of poverty.
And, because education has changed my life, I decided that the solution to transforming the lives of my people lay in offering them holistic education—education that would empower them, give them health, critical thinking skills, and skills to earn a living so that they could be self-sufficient —education that would help them to be creative and have vision—education that gave them wisdom but also taught them about love and compassion.
Most importantly, because I am a spiritual person and I believe that God created all of us as equal human beings, I made up my mind to include universal core values that bring peace and harmony for all in any work that I decided to do with my people.
Acceptance Speech
I am very honored to be chosen as one of the 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize laureates along with Dr. Gino Strada. I thank our host, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, members of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee and my family and colleagues. Let us not forget, this prize established by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, honors and represents the peace ideology of the late Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon. Reverend Moon believed we are “one global family.” This is true. We are living in a time where peace, love and wisdom needs to be at the forefront. God’s love does not discriminate by race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Reverend Moon reminded us of this. We must embrace peace as the road to resolving conflicts, building gender equality, and respect for all human beings.
I, myself, became a refugee in 1979 after the invasion of my country. My family all became refugees. I know what it feels like to be in a place where all of your rights have been taken away from you. I know how it feels to lose everything you have, including your dignity and self-confidence.
That is why I founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), and that is why I have chosen to work with Afghan refugees and the resettlement of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan for the last 26 years. I wanted to find a way to help Afghans rebuild their self-respect and self-confidence; I wanted them to be able to trust again, rebuild their communities and reestablish their core values; I wanted them to be able to live in peace and harmony and have a sustainable way of life.
We are living in a world where people are being judged by religion, ethnicity, race, and gender. People are being labeled wrongly and being targeted by hate groups. We must rise above the hate. We must use our voices for good. We need to remove the injustice and eliminate poverty. War is not the answer to any problem. We must work together collectively to bring peace in this world. In order to do this, we need to share our knowledge and build a support system that provides sustainable results.
We see all around the world, millions of dollars are poured into countries that create an environment that does not bring peace or sustainability. The money is given to the government or organizations with no system in place to progressively develop the country. And sadly, the countries that need the most critical help are ignored. I truly believe that if we want to make a difference, we must set forth a creative program that involves the people. We must reach out to all community members; women, men and children. We need to give them all the necessary tools in life. We need to address education, health, skills, job opportunities, economics, environment, and above all human rights as it relates to responsibilities, values, compassion, love, and peace.
As I have shared previously with some of the United Nations and European Union organizations, when we give an opportunity to people and ask them what they know, what their skills are, how much they can give, you would be surprised to see the outcome. People want to feel valued. They want their voice to be heard. When they are heard, people gain confidence and want to take an active role in your program to ensure the success of the community and country. From the beginning you gain an important asset - the support and trust of the people. The human resources of the community will serve as the foundation that will build up the community and bring the people together.
When you share love, compassion and wisdom, you provide humanity with an indestructible base for living in peace and harmony that no one can take away. You create an environment where everyone respects each other’s rights and appreciates different cultures, traditions, religions and ideas. With love, compassion and wisdom as your base, then everyone globally can live in harmony and peace.
Thank you all.
Remark Upon Announcement
It is a great honor to be chosen as a 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate. This year the Sunhak Peace Prize focuses its attention on the global refugee crisis. It is a privilege to be recognized along with Dr. Gino Strada as someone who has contributed to helping refugees and helping in their resettlement.
I, myself, became a refugee in 1979 after the invasion of my country. My family all became refugees. I know what it feels like to be in a place where all of your rights have been taken away from you. I know how it feels to lose everything you have, including your dignity and self-confidence. That is why I founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), and that is why I have chosen to work with Afghan refugees and the resettlement of Afghan refugees and IDPs in Afghanistan for the last 24 years. I wanted to find a way to help Afghans rebuild their self-respect and self-confidence; I wanted them to be able to trust again, rebuild their communities and reestablish their core values; I wanted them to able to live in peace and harmony and have a sustainable way of life.
When I first went to the refugee camps in Pakistan, I saw courage in the women, men and children, but I also saw despair and hopelessness. I knew that I wanted to do something to transform the minds and spirits of my people. I knew that to build trust, I needed to listen to them; I needed to include them and their ideas in programs that they wanted, and I needed to ask each community to contribute something to their projects. Their contributions would give them self-worth and dignity. In other words, I wanted them to become partners with us. And, because education has changed my life, I decided that the solution to transforming the lives of my people lay in offering them holistic education—education that would empower them, give them health, critical thinking skills, and skills to earn a living so that they could be self-sufficient —education that would help them to be creative and have vision—education that gave them wisdom but also taught them about love and compassion. Most importantly, because I am a spiritual person and I believe that God created all of us as equal human beings, I made up my mind to include universal core values that bring peace and harmony for all in any work that I decided to do with my people.
When you share love, compassion and wisdom, you provide humanity with an indestructible base for living in peace and harmony that no one can take away. You create an environment where everyone respects each other’s rights and appreciates different cultures, traditions, religions and ideas. With love, compassion and wisdom as your base, then everyone globally can live in harmony and peace.
Globally, if all are educated and have equal opportunity for a holistic educational system, you can overcome poverty and disease. Then, there is no war. We live in an era of conflict, mass displacement, growing hatred and great distrust. We need to look at the situation deeply and remember that we are all humans created equally by God. We must share and collaborate with each other to make this world a better place for everyone.
Nov 29, 2016
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi
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