10.29.07 – On Monday, October 29, a benefit dinner in honor of the second anniversary of the Ayenda Foundation, the Afghan Children Initiative, was held at the Embassy of Afghanistan. Ambassador Said T. Jawad and Ayenda founder Mrs. Shamim Jawad hosted nearly 150 distinguished guests, including Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, Mrs. Diana Bodman, the honorable Esther Coopersmith and many others. The benefit dinner was Co-chaired by Timothy McBride, Senior Vice President of Freddie Mac and the co-founder of the Ayenda Foundation and sponsored by Freddie Mac.

Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky provided the evening’s opening remarks. After being introduced by Ambassador Jawad as a “devoted friend of Afghanistan and a real force behind the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council,” Under Secretary Dobriansky described her experiences traveling through Afghanistan as a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. “Years of war have impacted the lives of Afghan children; under the harsh rule of the Taliban kids were unable to grow up with a basic, normal, happy, healthy childhood,” she said. “Ayenda supports projects that promote the welfare, education, health, safety, artistic and athletic abilities of Afghan children and especially young girls.

These programs will help the children of Afghanistan reclaim at least a part of the childhood that they lost during the Taliban years. It will provide them with a renewed opportunity to have the normal, happy, healthy childhoods that they deserve.”

Mrs. Shamim Jawad’s remarks described the series of events that led to the creation of Ayenda, and thanked the audience for their partnership and support in building a better tomorrow for Afghanistan’s children. On the occasion of the Ayenda Foundation’s second anniversary, Mrs. Jawad announced plans for the future construction of an orphanage in Bamiyan Province, the Ayenda Children Learning Center.

“Bamiyan once home to the world famous Giant Buddha, is one of Afghanistan’s most beautiful provinces, with pristine lakes, priceless historical monuments and countless natural wonders,” she said. “Unfortunately, it is also one of Afghanistan’s least developed and most neglected provinces. The people of Bamiyan are in need of basic education, which they have been deprived of for over three decades. The Ayenda Children Learning Center will be a safe and nurturing home for Bamiyan’s orphans, providing them with a safe place to live, hot meals and learning facilities.”