Chiara Guariglia’s wedding day will be special, and not just for herself and her fiancé Valerio Nardone. Chiara has chosen to dedicate her wedding to Central Asia Institute. As a result, the celebration will also be a event to remember for dozens of children in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan when they learn in schools supported by their charitable wedding gifts.

In Italy, guests usually place a gift of money into the bag or box at the reception. At Chiara’s wedding, when they open the gift box, they will see a note inside informing them that their gift is being donated to […]

Imagine you’re a second-grade student in Tajikistan. It’s December and freezing, but your school is unheated. The cold concrete walls do little to trap the heat in, and there’s no floor, so the damp ground makes the room even more unbearable. Being in school makes you ill as your body struggles to keep warm.

Or maybe you’re a child in Pakistan. Your village had a school built 20 years ago, so you’re lucky to not be one of the 9.5 million primary-age students who don’t have access to education. But the number of children at your school has doubled, and your […]

A Message from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

For the last two weeks, I have watched in disbelief and dismay as CAI’s Afghan friends and family faced unspeakable horrors, enduring violent attack after violent attack.

Just this Monday, 31 people were killed in a series of attacks in Afghanistan. On April 22, a suicide blast in Kabul killed 57 people — including at least five children — and wounded over 100 more at a voter registration center. That attack was preceded by a car bombing in southern Afghanistan in which at least 13 people were killed and 35 others injured. In […]

One of the major barriers to education in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan isn’t what you might think. As populations grow and the education revolution takes hold, there simply aren’t enough classrooms to hold all the students who want to learn. This simple lack of classrooms is holding thousands of children back, and many of them are girls. How do we know? Along with research from various global relief organizations, we seek out counsel from the people living in the villages who are experiencing these problems first hand.

In Tajikistan, poverty is one of the largest barriers to higher education. All too often promising students must end their academic dreams early, or their families take out loans they can never pay back and are often not sufficient to put their children through school. With help from donors, CAI’s partner in Tajikistan (CAIT) gives scholarships to students based on need and merit, ensuring poverty does not derail the dreams and careers of some of the country’s best and brightest students. Each applicant must submit their school grades and their family’s income information, complete an interview, and submit recommendations from village elders and teachers.

“I have long believed that the best way to fight terrorism and poverty is to educate women.  When women have knowledge they begin to realize they have power. They begin to transfer that to their children. They teach their daughters that women are valuable and can make a difference. They teach their sons compassion. They teach their children that there is more than one way to look at the world.” - Elaine Olson. Read about what it's like to be a Dream Maker in our monthly giving program from two women who believe in the power of education.