How to Leave a Lasting Impact: CAI’S Legacy Society
By Marianne Monoc We all strive to find purpose and meaning in our lives. One impactful way is through supporting charitable causes, which can help create lasting positive change in our communities and even the world. For many individuals, including nonprofits in their legacy plans is a natural extension of their lifelong commitment to giving. […]
Unlocking a Treasure Chest of Knowledge: Women’s Economic Empowerment Programs
By Bella Pich and Tonya Andrews At CAI, we believe empowering women is the most effective way to reduce poverty, strengthen families, and foster lasting community resilience. That’s why donor support fuels our Women’s Economic Empowerment Programs—initiatives that equip women with the skills, tools, and confidence to participate in local economies and transform their lives. […]
Not the Lesson I Planned
By Claire Mei Chevallier When I was 18, I attended a talk by a mountaineer who became my role model. Nearly a decade later, her story would lead me to the Himalayas—where I would unknowingly become a role model myself. I sat wide-eyed in a metal folding chair in the backroom of my local REI […]
CAI Board Member Profile – Eileen Shield-West
By Tonya Andrews For Eileen Shields-West, the mission of CAI is more than a cause—it’s a calling. A longtime advocate for displaced communities, Eileen’s deep humanitarian experience and personal connection to CAI’s Executive Director, Alice Thomas, brought her to the organization five years ago. “Our first hire at Refugees International’s climate displacement program was Alice,” […]
CAI Board Member Profile – Moin Khan
By Tonya Andrews For Moin Khan, education is more than a professional interest—it’s a personal mission shaped by years of experience, family history, and deep ties to Central and South Asia. As a CAI board member, Moin brings a rare blend of international development expertise and on-the-ground connection that gives him both clarity and conviction […]
Celebrate With Us: CAI Turns 30
By Marianne Monoc In 2026, Central Asia Institute will turn thirty. For three decades, we have provided sustained support for education and economic opportunity in some of the most remote, impoverished, and underserved communities on earth. Since its founding in 1996, CAI has made quality education possible for countless children and adults, especially for girls […]
Give More, Owe Less? The Benefits of Charitable Giving
By Brittany Heater Philanthropy is more than just making a gift—it can also be part of a savvy financial strategy. When we think about smart money moves, we often focus on cutting back, but what if the smartest way to save more was by giving more? One of the most powerful saving tools may be […]
The Ripple Effect of Educating a Girl
Why her empowerment benefits everyone. By Alice Thomas Central Asia Institute’s mission has long been to promote education as a pathway to opportunity. Since our founding nearly 30 years ago, we have provided countless males and females with education, job skills, and the agency to live a better life. Leveling the Playing Field for Girls […]
Nurturing Safe Learning Environments in Tajikistan
By Seelai Karzai For many years, Central Asia Institute has supported early childhood education across remote, mountainous communities of Tajikistan, particularly in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) region. This support includes building preschools, renovating classrooms for safety and optimal learning, and training preschool teachers. Why Early Childhood Education is Important Many studies have documented the […]
Shining the Light on Shining Star
By Natalie Meyer* When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, decades of progress for Afghan women and girls came to an abrupt halt. Since then, girls have been banned from attending school beyond sixth grade. Women have been barred from studying at universities, most jobs are now closed to them, and they can […]
Not A Lost Cause: The Fight for Girls’ Education in Afghanistan
By Rida I grew up in Balochistan, Pakistan, a community where education was a luxury girls had to earn. Every school I attended, every exam I took, every degree I obtained, were made possible because someone, somewhere, believed in the importance of investing in girls. Scholarships carried me when circumstances could not. From my earliest […]
More than Education: Breaking down Menstrual Barriers
By Bella Pich Imagine being a young girl growing up in a remote mountain village in Pakistan, with access to few resources. While there is no government school located close enough to your village for you to reach on foot, you are overjoyed to be enrolled in a community school established by Central Asia Institute. […]
Traveling to Tajikistan: A Photo Journal
By Alice Thomas, Executive Director, CAI This August, I traveled to Tajikistan, where Central Asia Institute has been supporting access to quality education and women’s economic empowerment since 2012. Posing for a photo with Muqaddas, a scholarship recipient who is studying to be a lab technician. When I arrived, I made the long journey—12 hours […]
Afghan Female Olympians Take the Fight for Women’s Rights to the 2024 Paris Games
It’s been three years this week since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to retake control of the country and clamp down on women’s rights. Since then, women who were government officials, judges, lawyers, and business leaders have been removed from any role in society. Female athletes are banned from sports. […]
Get to know our summer intern: Rida
Each summer, Central Asia Institute welcomes students from around the country – and the world – to work as summer interns. Our internship program not only affords students the opportunity to work alongside our team and gain firsthand experience in international development and non-profit management. It also provides CAI with valuable input and support from […]