About Us

By admin

about_picThe Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society recognizes that the youth of Afghanistan can change its future.  Afghanistan is a war frayed country with over 30 years of conflict and instability, resulting in a lack of peace and security. Afghanistan faces many overarching challenges, such as establishing long-lasting peace and security, landmines, dependence on foreign aid, economic precariousness and lack of education and proper health care system. Perhaps the most compelling and urgent need is to help the children and youth of Afghanistan. Investing in their education, nutrition and basic health-care must become top priority for both the international and local communities. Otherwise, the future of Afghanistan will be left without a foundation. For these reasons, the Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society believes that investing in children of Afghanistan is one of the best ways to turn a new page in Afghanistan and secure a more promising future. It is also the best way to prevent young people from becoming vulnerable to those who would seek to manipulate their circumstances for the purpose of escalating conflict.

The Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society is a non-profit, non-political, charitable organization, created and operated by supporters of Afghan children in British Columbia. The society has been in operation since 2006 in the city of Surrey, BC. The Society was formally registered with the Ministry of Finance of BC as Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society in 2007, and is required to abide by the Society Act of British Columbia, Canada.  Our is goal to improve the future of children in Afghanistan by providing them with meaningful opportunities to realize their potential as future leaders.
A strategic vision for BOHFAC

“BOHFAC will be the charity which creates global awareness about the plight of Afghanistan’s youth. BOHFAC hopes to translate this awareness into significant donations which will provide educational opportunities for these youth. We strongly believe education will transform the lives of Afghan youth for a better future.”

MISSION OF BOHFAC

“BOHFAC is a charitable non-profit organization which aims to use creative and innovative methods to raise awareness and resources to aid the most vulnerable youth of Afghanistan- the orphans. This aid will provide sustainable opportunities for Afghan youth to regularly attend school. BOHFAC will create partnerships with established orphanages, schools, and hospitals in Afghanistan to make this a reality. BOHFAC promises to publicly recognize supporters and donors, and will provide them with an accessible website which effectively communicates the progress of their donations, and encourages online donation.”

Core values and purpose

Social responsibility, education, awareness, and transparency.

By determining, communicating, and living its values, BOHFAC can ensure donor and/or customer confidence in its management and success. In order for BOHFAC to effectively list specific goals and objectives, an internal and external analysis must be done to determine the appropriateness and feasibility of the objectives.

Strategic objectives for BOHFAC

a) Short term (deadline- December 2010)

  • Obtain an accredited charity status with Government of Canada
  • Appoint a board of directors for the charity
  • To appoint one or two orphanages (capacity of 100 orphans in total) in Kabul.
  • To continue to support Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul with medicinal donations by asking for pharmaceutical companies for donations with the specification that medical care will be given to the orphans.
  • Supply the two schools which have already received aid via the annual fundraiser with the following (ensuring that the orphans attend one of these school’s)
  • 100 pairs of shoes from shoe companies for the orphans to attend school.
  • 100 sets of the books including but not limited to- math, English, science from school donations in Canada.
  • Raise 100 winter coats and 100 sets of uniforms from clothing companies
  • Continue to provide financial assistance to poor  families.

b) Medium (December 2010)

  • Generate an environment conducive to learning by providing funds to purchase desks, central heating, computers, and shelter repairs for the orphanage and school.
  • Obtain enough corporate support to provide salaries and advanced training for five teachers per school and one school nurse.

c) Long (ongoing)

  • To become a trusted charity of choice for private, corporate and government donations.
  • To expand the geographic region of support for orphans in Afghanistan.

Our Goals:
1. To Provide the Indira Ghandi Chidren’s Hospital in Kabul Afghanistan, with basic medical supplies and equipment.

2. To relieve poverty by providing financial assistance, food and clothing to poor families in Afghanistan.

3. To advance education in Afghanistan by providing books, school supplies, and other educational necessities to poor public school students in Afghanistan.

The objectives of the Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society:
Objective # 1:

1. To Provide the Indira Ghandi Chidren’s Hospital in Kabul Afghanistan, with basic medical supplies and equipment.
Procedure: Over the past three years, through fund-raising efforts the Society has been able to raise approximately $12000.00 CND after cost. In 2006, we raised $2000.00CND, which was directly donated to the Indira Gandhi Children’s hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan through a pharmaceutical donation.

In 2007, a contribution of $3600.00 CND in the form of a pharmaceutical donation was made to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. The contact person for the hospital at that time was its president,  Dr. A.S. Jalali, MD, M.S, PHD. The method of donation to the hospital has been through pharmaceutical donations. This involved a member of the Society traveling to Afghanistan (this member pays for their own traveling expense), conducting an initial interview to assess the needs of the hopsital in order to obtain a list of medication and the medical supplies the hospital needs. Once this list has been obtained, the member visits a local pharmacy and purchases the supplies, which is then donated to the hospital. As the Society would like to maintain full control over the funds raised, secured and donated to the hospital (Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital, in Kabul Afghanistan), this procedure will be followed for all future donations to the hospital.

Criteria for Choosing the Hospital

This hospital was chosen as  a recipient based on three factors:
1. The location is accessible and relatively safe for members of the society to visit.
2. The hospital is a reputable hospital, with high ethical and professional standards of practice.
3. The hospital meets the needs of children (ages 0-18) from all over the country.

Since the Society has established a relationship of trust with the hospital, the hospital has asked for donation in the form of medication and medical supplies. This procedure allows the Society to maintain control over the distribution of its funds.

In 2008, the Society was able to donate another $2000.00 worth of medication to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital. Please watch the video link under our accomplishment section for an interview with the hospital president.
Objective # 2: To advance education in Afghanistan by providing books, school supplies, and other educational necessities to poor public school students in Afghanistan.
Education: to provide children (ages 6-25) in Kabul Afghanistan with educational opportunities:

The Society has been and intends to donate supplies, such as notebooks, writing utensils, shoes and winter jackets to two elementary–middle schools in Kabul Afghanistan. Due to a lack of basic supplies, most children in Afghanistan do not attend school.

Procedure: In the summer of 2008, Froozan Jooya (President of Beacon of Hope for Afghan Children Society) traveled to Kabul Afghanistan to complete a needs assessment on five public elementary schools. The assessment was conducted on schools that were located in the underprivileged areas of the province of Kabul.

These schools were assessed against three criteria:

1. Schools that had the highest enrollment of students from single parent households (i.e widows).
2. Schools that have highest enrollment of orphan children
3. Schools that serve children with the lowest family income.

The above information was obtained through interviews with a school officials, such as principals. In addition, if the schools were already receiving funds from other charities or organizations, they were disqualified. Two elementary schools with the greatest needs were identified as those that the society will make annual donation to.

The  two schools  are currently assisted by the Society include:

1. Behzadi School Elementary-Middle School, District of Behzadi, Kabul Afghanistan. This school is located approximately 25k outside of Kabul city.  The student population at this school is 430. The Society will continue to supply this school’s students with school supplies, winter jackets and shoes.

2. Wazir Gul e Shaheed Elementary-Middle School, District of Dowlana, Kabul Afghanistan, which is located 20k outside of Kabul City. The student population is 730. The Society will continue to supply the students of this school with school supplies, winter jackets and shoes.

The Society director will personally hand over the donated items to the students and will provide the Society with receipts for purchasing the items, and video tapes of the children receiving these gifts in their school environment.
Objective #3
Awareness: To promote awareness about the situation of children in Afghanistan. Afghan children have been the victim of 30 years of war and only recently the international community has heard their plight. For this reason, it is important to educate the rest of the global community about their undesirable situation, such as their need to have proper health care and education and the right to live in a safe environment.

Awareness about the situation of Afghan Children will be raised in our annual fund-raising dinners, where the Society will have presentations or guest speakers  who will talk about the realities of children in Afghanistan.

Please watch videos of our previous guest speakers under the accomplishment section.
Objective #4:
Empowerment: To empower youth in Afghanistan through educational opportunities to realize their potential as future leaders of the country. This objective will be achieved through our objective numbers 2 and 5. If children have the opportunity to stay in school, obtain an education, they will be able to question terrorism, inequality and injustice. The children will gain the courage to stand up for their rights and protest if their rights are being violated. It’s the Society’s belief that an educated society can form a peaceful country.
Objective: #5

To relieve poverty by providing financial assistance, food and clothing to poor families in Afghanistan.
Financial assistance: To offer the victims of war, particularly single parent families in Kabul, Afghanistan with financial assistance. Through financial aid these families will be able to focus on providing their children a safe and secure home.

Procedure: The Society is currently providing 5 families with financial assistance. These families were chosen based on the following criteria:

1. Families with children between ages of 6-25 are chosen.  We use 25 as the maximum age, because some students may pass their final grade 12 exam  (similar SAT), but cannot afford to go to university. The society believes that assisting these young adults with their university education will only open better employment opportunities.

2. Low income families: Families that earn under 2000 Afghan currency per month.

3. The child/children must be attending school.  The child/children’s school attendance must be regular.  The families must agree to keep their children at school until they are successful in completing their grade 12 or more if the child is capable of attending university.

4. The head of the house hold is a single mother or even if  the father is alive, he is incapable of working,  not able to provide sufficiently for their family.

5. The family must not own property and are renting their shelter. However, Society Directors may consider exceptional circumstances of the family.

For the five families that the society has agreed to financially assist, a bank account has been opened in the name of one the sponsored child’s parent. The account is with the KABUL BANK , in KABUL AFGHANISTAN. A deposit of $600USD has been made in their accounts, with a set limit of $50USD per month. This means each family is only allowed to withdraw $50 per month. The society will be able to make a direct deposit to their accounts on annual basis.

In order to confirm that the children are attending school, society directors will make phone calls to the children’s school every three months to verify their attendance. In addition, the families are required to mail-in  their children’s report card to society address once a year.

The society will try its best to consider and be aware of the overall well-being of the families. As such, the society directors will make phone calls to the families every three months to asses their needs and provide them with assistance if required.
Functioning of Society:
The society currently has 16 executive members, including 5 members on its board of directors.

The Society recognizes that should any of its members be unable to visit the country due to lack of security,it will suspend all of its activities until the time it is safe to resume.

Method of fundraising:

The society will organize and carry out annual fundraising dinners in the summer each year in the province of British Columbia to raise and secure funds. These funds will be donated society’s programs and initiatives.

Charitable Clause: Please note that all the proceeds raised from our fund-raising activities have been donated to the Society’s causes without any administrative cost. The members of the Society are volunteers and do not get paid. The society currently has 20 volunteers, with 16 volunteers being official members and contributors to the Society’s activities.

The Society shall be carried on without the purpose of gain for its members and any profits or other accretions to the organization and shall be used solely to promote its objectives. This clause has been added to the bylaws of the Society.