10.10.12 – The Ayenda Foundation hosted its annual benefit dinner at the residence of the British Ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott, to promote the welfare, education, and development of Afghanistan’s youth. The Foundation brought together U.S. Officials, Media partners. and the Diplomatic community committed to this mission, including Ambassador Rudolf Bekink of the Netherlands, Ambassador Claudia Fritsche of Lichtenstein, Ambassador Gilles Noghes of Monaco, Ambassador Stuart Holliday, and Leslie Schweitzer, Chair of Friends of the American University of Afghanistan.

Mrs. Shamim Jawad, Founder and President of the Ayenda Foundation and wife buy dissertation online of former Afghan Ambassador Said Jawad, expressed her gratitude for her supporters’ generosity and devotion. Her commitment to provide these hopeful, disadvantaged children with educational development opportunities has had a lasting impact on the Afghan community. With Mrs. Jawad’s leadership, the Foundation has established a new Learning Center and Computer Lab for orphans in Bamiyan province, expanded its teaching staff, and opened facilities in Maidan Wardak, and other cities throughout the country. Sir Peter Westmacott, who opened the ceremony in Farsi, celebrated Britain’s joint cooperation with the U.S. to support Afghanistan and stated his heart “is very much with the Afghan people and [he] will continue to support Ayenda’s mission to advance educational freedom.”

Keynote speaker Peter Bergen, the Director of the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation and eminent scholar on the Middle East, stressed the importance of continued cooperation with and support for the Afghan people. “Afghans do not want us [USA] to leave” he stated, reiterating the need very much still exists. The Ayenda Foundation, through its great contributions in strengthening the country’s educational infrastructure, has established itself as a leading and trusted provider of Afghan social development programs.