Spotlight: Sakena Yacoobi

We’re honored to be able to help nonprofit leaders all over the world, such as Sakeena Yacoobi, make a difference. In Forbes’ “Dr. Sakena Yacoobi: A Case Study in Leadership, Courage, and Conviction,” it is clear that others recognize the inspiring mission of Yacoobi’s Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) too.

Forbes interviews Yacoobi on the conception of AIL, what the organization does and how it has transformed. The core philosophy behind AIL, she says is to “involv[e] people, listen to them, honor and respect who they are, trust will grow and, working together, individuals and communities can be transformed to be peaceful, happy, fair, just and prosperous.” With this philosophy in hand, AIL continues to shape community development in Afghanistan in so many different ways!

“Listening to the community members, we offer what they ask for. Over the years, that has meant that we are offering many different kinds of services. We offer schools for children; educational learning centers for women and children which offer many types of classes including literacy, tailoring, beauty shop management, carpet weaving, calligraphy, miniature painting, computer, English , Arabic and many more subjects; health services and health education in our clinics; and training in such topics as pedagogy, leadership, human rights, gender issues, management, women’s health and many other specific health topics, peace, self-immolation and democracy.”