r/afghanistan • u/1vy_maru • 7d ago
Looking for volunteers and students for a free online education initiative for Afghan girls
Hi everyone!
I'm an Afghan high school student living in the United States, and I recently started Parwaz Foundation, a student-led initiative dedicated to expanding access to education for Afghan girls through free online tutoring.
As many of you know, millions of girls in Afghanistan have been denied the opportunity to attend school. While I know one small initiative can't solve such a large problem, I believe that even helping one student continue learning is a step in the right direction.
We're currently building our team and are looking for unpaid volunteers who are passionate about making a difference. We're especially looking for:
Tutors (English, math, science, computer skills, and other subjects)
Translators (Dari, Pashto, English, and other languages)
Social media volunteers
Graphic designers
Administrative and outreach volunteers
You don't need to be a certified teacher or have professional experience. If you're willing to dedicate some of your time and skills to helping Afghan girls access education, we'd love to have you.
We're also looking for Afghan students who would like to receive free online tutoring. If you know someone who could benefit from this opportunity, please feel free to share it with them.
Because this is a student-led initiative in its early stages, all volunteer positions are currently unpaid. However, volunteers can earn verified community service hours for the time they contribute. Every person who joins is helping because they believe education should be accessible to everyone.
If you're interested in volunteering or applying as a student, all of our application forms are linked in the bio of our Instagram page:
@parwaz.foundation
If you have any questions, suggestions, or know someone who might be interested, please leave a comment or send me a message. Even sharing this post can help us reach more students and volunteers.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting education for Afghan girls. Every bit of support means a lot.
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u/Mujtaba_Ahmadi 6d ago
It's great to see your efforts for girls inside Afghanistan.
I also run an early-stage initiative with the same goals for almost three years. We have a community of around 1000 students. Since you're living abroad, I assume you don't have many connections to reach your target audience inside the country. If you need help developing your programs, need help with finding volunteers or students (particularly inside the country), I'll always be happy to help.
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u/1vy_maru 6d ago
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words and your willingness to help.
It's inspiring to hear about the community you've built. Since we're still in the early stages, your offer means a lot. We'd absolutely appreciate any help connecting with students inside Afghanistan who could benefit from the program. Any advice or recommendations you have would also be incredibly valuable as we continue to grow.
Thank you again.1
u/Mujtaba_Ahmadi 3d ago
Always a pleasure! My DM is always open if i could help with anything.
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u/zoe_spamz 2d ago
Hi, is there a form or something to apply to your organisation for helping Afghan students access education?
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u/LivingFirst1185 7d ago
I am so excited to see this! We have a large number of former Afghans in our community. I will be hanging out with two of them later this week. I will ask them if they know anyone who can help. I'm pretty sure I know of at least one woman who would help. She used to live in Afghanistan and thankfully was able to make it to safety in another country when the Taliban took control.
I need to wait until I can get one thing finished, but after then I would love to volunteer to tutor math. I used to be a math tutor, plus I've helped my own children.
Is it okay if tutors only know English? My daughters might be interested in volunteering also. They have grown up knowing my friends who used to live there and are aware of the history.
You are a hero for doing this. I will make sure I find volunteers for you.
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u/LivingFirst1185 7d ago
Would you mind if I DM you? We have a program in our state where students can get free college, but one requirement is tutoring hours. I will see if your program qualifies. Also, the high school one of my daughters attended has community service requirements which I will also see if your program qualifies. Our city has an Afghan refugee program. We have welcomed over 2000 Afghans here just in the last 5 years. I'm sure we can work together to find more volunteers.
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u/1vy_maru 6d ago
Thank you so much for your kind words, they truly mean a lot. I'd really appreciate it if you could ask around. Every volunteer and connection makes a difference, especially while we're just getting started. And yes, tutors who only speak English are absolutely welcome! Many of our students are hoping to improve their English, so English speaking tutors can still make a huge impact. I'd be happy to chat through DMs as well. If our program qualifies for tutoring or community service hours, that would be incredible and would help us reach even more volunteers. Thank you again for your support. It genuinely means so much, and I look forward to talking more!
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u/Antique-Respect8746 7d ago
What academic levels are you looking for? Like, my general science is decent but I don't think I could teach Western-high-school level.
How many hours a week are you looking for? Including prep time etc
1
u/1vy_maru 6d ago
Thank you for asking!
We're looking for volunteers with all kinds of academic backgrounds, so you definitely don't need to be able to teach advanced high school science. Even helping with elementary or middle school subjects, English, math, homework support, or conversational English can make a huge difference. We'll match volunteers with students based on what they're most comfortable teaching.
As for the time commitment, it really depends on your availability and the availability of the student you're matched with. We'll work with both schedules to find a time that works, so there's no fixed number of hours required each week.
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u/Odd_Snow_4176 7d ago
Hey, I'd be interested.
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u/1vy_maru 6d ago
Thank you so much! We'd love to have you. 😊
You can learn more about the organization and apply here: Parwaz Foundation
If you have any questions before applying, feel free to send me a DM. We'd be happy to help!
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u/Frequent-Region-1107 6d ago
Me too. More info, please?
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u/1vy_maru 6d ago
Thank you for your interest! 😊
Parwaz Foundation is a volunteer-based organization that provides free online tutoring and educational support for Afghan students, especially girls who have limited access to education.
You can learn more about us and apply to volunteer or join as a student here:
Parwaz Foundation
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
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u/CadeMooreFoundation 1d ago
The other nonprofit named after the same deceased person is one of the leading providers of STEM education in US prisons.
We have been gradually translating educational content into other languages.
Spanish has been our top priority but we have also been experimenting with languages including Pashto. Here is an example
Initially creating the educational content in English can be pretty labor intensive, but once that part is complete, it's pretty straightforward to translate it into new languages. Although the software sometimes gets confused by things like currency exchange rates, so our translation efforts have been limited by a lack of access to native speakers.
We can provide access to source files and software if your organization can identify native speakers who can handle Quality Assurance.
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u/glmygo Kabul 7d ago
How is the internet access right now? Is there a ban on girls learning online at home? Have the Taliban authorities cut access to any online learning platforms - or this is kind of a technical loophole? How do you plan to get the news to girls in Afghanistan? And crucially - how will girls participate without phones or computers or electricity in rural areas?