About Us

Our Work

group of afghani women Beyond the 11th is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that empowers widows in Afghanistan who have been afflicted by war, terrorism, and oppression. We support programs that enable widows to support themselves and their families without begging in the street or standing in a breadline.

We accomplish our mission in two ways: increasing awareness of the desperate situation of widows in Afghanistan, and raising funds to help them. By providing grants to partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground in Afghanistan, we fund education and income-generation opportunities that are sustainable and culturally appropriate.

Out of the Abyss

The approximately 2 million Afghan widows are among the most impoverished and vulnerable peoples in one of the poorest countries in the world — yet they are often overlooked. Culturally displaced, widows in Afghanistan are stripped of whatever resources and respect they had when they were married. About 90% of Afghan widows have children, and the average widow has more than four.(1) Approximately 94% are illiterate.(2) It is difficult to overstate the bleak reality of everyday existence for these women as they struggle to feed their children and simply survive. Suicide sometimes seems like the only way out. According to a 2006 UNIFEM survey, 65% of the 50,000 widows in Kabul “see suicide the only option to get rid of their miseries and desolation.”(3)

Impoverished and utterly without resources, these women cannot lift their focus beyond day-to-day survival. As a result, their children are also trapped in the cycle of poverty without hope for a better future. The only way to break this cycle is by enabling Afghan widows to lift themselves out of the abyss. When a mother improves her life situation, her children have a chance at a better future — a chance not only to survive into adulthood, but a chance to attend school, which is vitally important on a global scale. As Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of Canadian troops in Task Force Kandahar pointed out, the enemy in Afghanistan is not just the Taliban — it’s illiteracy.(4) If we are ever to affect meaningful social change and deter terrorism in Afghanistan, it is through education and empowerment from the lowest echelons of society — the very place where Afghan widows dwell.

This is the work of Beyond the 11th.

SOURCES

We accomplish our mission in two ways: increasing awareness of the desperate situation of widows in Afghanistan, and raising funds to help them.



About Us Overview Our Story Founders Board of Directors	Our Work Beyond the 11th is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that empowers widows in Afghanistan who have been afflicted by war, terrorism, and oppression. We support programs that enable widows to support themselves and their families without begging in the street or standing in a breadline. We accomplish our mission in two ways: increasing awareness of the desperate situation of widows in Afghanistan, and raising funds to help them. By providing grants to partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground in Afghanistan, we fund education and income-generation opportunities that are sustainable and culturally appropriate. Out of the Abyss The approximately 2 million Afghan widows are among the most impoverished and vulnerable peoples in one of the poorest countries in the world — yet they are often overlooked. Culturally displaced, widows in Afghanistan are stripped of whatever resources and respect they had when they were married. About 90% of Afghan widows have children, and the average widow has more than four.(1) Approximately 94% are illiterate.(2) It is difficult to overstate the bleak reality of everyday existence for these women as they struggle to feed their children and simply survive. Suicide sometimes seems like the only way out. According to a 2006 UNIFEM survey, 65% of the 50,000 widows in Kabul “see suicide the only option to get rid of their miseries and desolation.”(3) Impoverished and utterly without resources, these women cannot lift their focus beyond day-to-day survival. As a result, their children are also trapped in the cycle of poverty without hope for a better future. The only way to break this cycle is by enabling Afghan widows to lift themselves out of the abyss. When a mother improves her life situation, her children have a chance at a better future — a chance not only to survive into adulthood, but a chance to attend school, which is vitally important on a global scale. As Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of Canadian troops in Task Force Kandahar pointed out, the enemy in Afghanistan is not just the Taliban — it’s illiteracy.(4) If we are ever to affect meaningful social change and deter terrorism in Afghanistan, it is through education and empowerment from the lowest echelons of society — the very place where Afghan widows dwell. This is the work of Beyond the 11th. SOURCES http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/01/30/bleak-prospects-for-estimated-1-5-million-widows-in-afghanistan.html http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=76492 http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/01/30/bleak-prospects-for-estimated-1-5-million-widows-in-afghanistan.html http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=ff1e4339-ee84-4734-ad25-2b3d559e5a43	We accomplish our mission in two ways: increasing awareness of the desperate situation of widows in Afghanistan, and raising funds to help them.