To spotlight the advancements in Central Asia on human-centered design (HCD), AKF colleagues presented at the International Social Innovation Research Conference to share AKF’s...

The tourism industry is rapidly developing in Kyrgyzstan, notably even in the most remote corners of the country. Jailoo-tourism, a new term in Kyrgyz...

Climate change is a major challenge facing our world today. While some progress has been made, new solutions are urgently needed to stabilize climate...

From a young age Nasim, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, strove to create innovative projects, and contribute to the development of the country’s growing IT sector.

In this report, we’re honored to share new partnerships and awards that AKF secured in 2021. Explore the map section to discover new foundations...

Globally-inspired art, innovations, and local initiatives were at the heart of the 2021 Youth Festival. Hosted by Youth Ambassadors, the virtual showcase invited youth...

At home and around the world, AKF partners with communities, local organizations, businesses, and governments to build better futures together. Discover how AKF’s locally-driven...

What if we looked at development differently? Instead of adapting global solutions to local problems, what if we scaled community-led problem solving?

From a young age, Risolat Gulmamadova was interested in starting her own business.

Niyozbegim, a 58-year-old woman, has lived in Roshorv village of Rushan in Tajikistan’s Badakhshon region her entire life.

After getting her master’s degree in finance at Kyrgyz National University, Sagynalieva Aigerim applied for jobs in her field unsuccessfully.

Firuz Khudoberdiev, from Chagev village, says his whole family is involved in the beekeeping business, in one way or another.

Iroda, a woman-owned, parent-led, public organization in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, helps children with autism or neurodevelopmental disabilities with socializing, learning, and growing.

This article was authored by Sarayu Agarwal, Program and Co-Creation Manager for Local Impact.

At thirty-four years old, Hamza has lived in the Khatlon region in southwestern Tajikistan for his entire life. A farmer, Hamza started to grow...

When their daughter was three, Nurzhan Tursunakunova and her husband started looking for a kindergarten but had difficulty finding affordable kindergartens with openings.

Roshtqala district of Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) in Tajikistan is home to abundant fruits and gardens.

Nisso, now aged 49, was born and raised in Khorog of Tajikstan’s Badakhshan region.

Drawing on over 50 years of experience in international development, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is proud to launch The Learning Hub, a free...

This statement was first published on AKDN.org.

For generations, residents of the Derzud and Barzud villages have dreamed of having a good irrigation system.

Bakhtibekova Mehrangez was scrolling through Instagram last year when she saw a post from Tajik pop singer Madina that got her attention. Instead of...

In the fall of 2020, AKF USA launched the first-ever Virtual Voyage: Around the World with AKF. This digital journey allowed AKF donors to...

Kanat and Gulmira Adybaev live near Osh, Kyrgyz Republic, with their two children. Like many people living in their village of Jylkeldi, they make...

2020 was a busy year for Uasin Gishu County Youth Bunge Forum (UGCYB), a community-based organization in Kenya’s Uasin Gishu County.

In April 2020, Tajikistan diagnosed their first cases of COVID-19. As news of these cases spread across the country, many people were concerned because...

Our decades of work to build a strong foundation in health, education, and economic inclusion helped many endure these unprecedented times.

In July of 2020, 103-year-old Aziz Abdul Alim tested positive for COVID-19. He was admitted to the recently established COVID-19 Emergency Response Center in...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a serious global health crisis, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)...

In 2016, the University of Central Asia (UCA) opened its first undergraduate campus in Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic and welcomed the future class of 2021.

As the COVID-19 pandemic developed, medical centers around the world faced a shortage of medical equipment and supplies needed to care for patients. These...

Driving along the Kericho-Sotik highway by the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, the breath-taking landscape is full of hilly terrain, farmlands, and seemingly endless...

In the center of Murghab district in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), children under five years old did not have many learning options. The local...

As trucks carrying food packages reached Tajikistan’s Bartang Valley in late 2020, the residents of Basid village made their way to the food distribution...

On Saturday, March 20, Youth Ambassadors hosted the 2021 Youth Festival, a virtual showcase of globally inspired art, outreach, and solutions. The digital event...

This spring, Farzana Kabani ran the Woodlands Marathon in Texas to raise money for AKF USA. Farzana set a goal of raising $10,000, and...

After Aida’s* children grew up and left home, she was determined to make a difference for other children in her community. She decided to...

Every day after she wakes up, Saidrahmonova Makhfirat prays, drinks her tea, and goes to her farm.

Nestled in the Pamir Mountains, Murghab district is on the eastern side of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) in Tajikistan. Murghab is one of the...

As Hangoma went about her sophomore year at the University of Central Asia’s (UCA) campus in Khorog, Tajikistan, life changed quickly. Like many universities...

Due to COVID-19, many of the world’s children have been out of school and, in some developing countries, for more than six months. In...

Bilal Sirazhidin Uulu is a 26-year-old resident of Arslanbob village in the Jalal-Abad region of the Kyrgyz Republic. He lives in the village with...

Patna, the capital city of the Indian state of Bihar, sprawls along the South Bank of the river Ganga, in the northeastern part of...

AKF and the World Bank have partnered to support youth through community engagement efforts in the Kyrgyz Republic. Three projects are underway through this...

Roziyamo Kabirova lives in a remote village in the scenic Wakhan Valley, in Ishkoshim district of Tajikistan that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. She enjoys...

Youth unemployment—particularly among rural youth—is a hot political issue in India, where more than 56 percent of secondary school students in India lack basic...

Anora, age 20, lives in a small village in the Khatlon region of Tajikistan. In early 2019, she gathered with other participants of the...

Batula Fayo Rasa, a young woman in northern Kenya, is the sixth child in a family of 11. Her parents are local farmers whose...

Mittal Vasava, age 20, was living in rural Gujarat when she learned from a friend about Yuva Junction. Mittal’s family belongs to India’s semi-nomadic...

For over 50 years, the Aga Khan Foundation has invested in communities across Africa and Asia to break the cycle of poverty and create...

Meeting the ever-changing demands and expectations of teaching during COVID-19 has been overwhelming for educators. While many teachers have remained positive and resilient, for...

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Kenya, social and mainstream media were flooded with prevention messages. Though all these initiatives are important, many Kenyans, particularly...

In December 2019, 20-year-old Karishma completed a course at Yuva Junction, where she learned sewing skills to make women’s clothes. Now, she’s sewing face...

Meeting the demands and expectations of supporting children to learn at home can be overwhelming. Whether it is receiving new instructions from teachers or...

In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe affecting every aspect of our lives. In these unprecedented times, the Aga...

When Armaan Ismail decided to go to college, he knew he wanted to build on skills he gained as a Youth Ambassador of the Aga...

Noor Khoja, a software manager in Dallas, saw a chance to make a difference. For several years he had been a volunteer with the...

The scale and complexity of challenges facing the world require massive investments and more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable societies. Meeting those needs requires greater...

Khushi Kumari first learned about composting through a book that belonged to her daughter. But she never thought it would be a practice that...

Our dedicated supporters always find ways to make a bigger difference. In 2018, Aly Manji and Kiran Lakhani, with their loved ones, made a...

Sangeeta Devi is telling Yasmin Sultana, her village’s goat nurse, how she negotiated the price for her two male goats. “I told the goat...

When Zainab Samad was 13 or 14, she accompanied her mother to see a physician at Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. The...

As the head of a nonprofit organization, Maryana already considered herself a leader, but did not yet see herself as a leader in the...

When she was a young Tajik woman leaving home for university, Furough didn’t plan on going into tourism. “Then at university I fell in...

For over 50 years, the Aga Khan Foundation has invested in communities across Africa and Asia to break the cycle of poverty and create...

For three days, through a program focused on learning and innovation (called Juntos!), AKF ran a workshop with the aim of equipping civil society...

“For me, school is like a safe haven. It helps me to keep busy and keep away from bad influences,” says Monica Muthoni, a...

Growing up in Jalal-Abad, the Kyrgyz Republic, Baisal spent his childhood with school friends and helping his mother care for his two younger siblings....

In Tajikistan, a landlocked country in Central Asia, over 55% of the population is under 25. While progress has been made to reduce poverty,...

Nestled in the remote mountains of northern Pakistan, Chipurson Valley has a total population of 4,000 people. Through the School Improvement Program (SIP), the...

For people living in poor, remote areas, access to formal financial institutions to borrow or save money is considered a luxury. Yet families in...

In Chitral, the farthest most district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northern Pakistan, a sea change of transformational teaching and learning is...

Meet Rukhshod, the leader of a national micro-lending organization (MLO) in Tajikistan, with five branches across three regions. In a country where the majority...

Aariz Ali, age 9, lives in Austin, Texas and attends a Montessori School. He likes mathematics and sports, especially basketball, and the San Antonio...

Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) launched a five-year program of agricultural development and nutrition support in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan entitled...

Sarah Habib and Alisha Somani are co-presidents of the Aga Khan Foundation Youth Ambassadors in the Dallas area, and seniors in high school. Recently...

There is nothing that parents love more in this world than their children. Parents everywhere want our children to grow up safe, healthy, and...

A 2016 graduate of Aga Khan Academy (AKA) in Mombasa, Kenya, Barbara Nasila found her way to a leadership role as an architecture student...

As the holidays approach and the fall semester comes to a close at universities around the world, we’d like to feature a post from...

Jedidah always arrived early at the office. Some of her colleagues called her ambitious, but for her, the job was fulfilling as she saw...

“More important than speed, economic growth that is inclusive is crucial for a healthy and stable society.” In Central Asia, Aga Khan Foundation USA...

Aman Vadhwaniya grew up in a family that valued enterprise and education. When he graduated high school, he and his father embarked on a...

Kadiatou Diarra, age 8, is a smart girl who lives in Ballabougou with her mother, two sisters, and a brother. Where she lives is...

Tajikistan, a landlocked country in Central Asia, is often characterized by its peaks, rugged terrain, and untouched landscapes. The country is rich in fresh...

Portio is a village in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Located roughly 30 miles from the border of Mali, Portio is nested in a remote region...

When Aisha Sethi was young, she had one goal: to apply to university. Now Director of the Dermatology Global Health Program at Yale University’s...

When most Americans think of what it’s like to be a doctor, they picture long, exhausting days in medical school, endless nights in residency,...

In Mathare, a notoriously poor neighborhood in Nairobi, few families have books. Even schools lack suitable reading material. Across Kenya, only 2 percent of...

One fall afternoon, five women in the playroom of the new kindergarten in the Kyrgyz Republic talked about the changes they saw with the...

Alyna is one of the undergraduates who have brought life to the new Naryn campus of the University of Central Asia. (Eventually, the university...

Dilangez grew up in a family of six in a small village in Tajikistan. From a young age, she was passionate about design. Her...

For over 100 years, the AKDN has worked to ensure that students of all ages have access to quality learning at every rung of...

Munavvar Shamirov was a teacher in Tajikistan when he realized he needed to return to his parents’ village to help them as they were...

Right after school, 10-year-old Bakhtiyor Misharovob rushes home to meet his father at the workshop, a primitive-looking building with old equipment, broken sewage pipes,...

Ham Serunjogi, a graduate of the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, previously shared his journey from Uganda to Iowa to Facebook. In this...

Rasheed Hooda is redefining what it means to age in today’s world. This year the Houstonian is dedicating a remarkable journey to mark his...

When Kiran Lakhani and Aly Manji decided to get married, they wanted to make the occasion both a celebration and a gift for good. For their...

Sara is seven years old and lives in one of the world’s most remote areas—in northern Afghanistan. She dreams of becoming a doctor. But...

Dr. Touré is the sole doctor at the medical center in Kouto, a rural community in northern Côte d’Ivoire. He lives over 440 miles...

Salim Bhojani, an Aga Khan Foundation volunteer in Dallas, Texas, spoke recently about starting the We Care team, which hosts an annual dinner to...

In every country, every city, and every village around the world, we find strong, compassionate, and loving dads who are the heroes in their...

Though many African cultures regard orphans as the responsibility of the community, often only academically gifted orphans have a shot at making a better...

A child’s start in life can define a society’s growth and prosperity. The evidence is overwhelming: investing in early childhood (the period between pregnancy...

In an effort to help women gain financial independence, Project Mesha launched in Bihar, India, in 2016 to train women to rear goats and...

Zohir Shomusalamov, a young man from Khorog, Tajikistan, dreamed of finding a way to make use of his passion for cycling and the outdoors,...

A Single Mother in Mombasa I ask you to picture in your mind a house with no ceiling, just aluminum sheets for a roof....

Stone Gates of Pamir I come from a small city in Tajikistan called Khorog. It’s a place locked in by protective mountains, so not...

Talant Niyazov, a graduate of the University of Central Asia (UCA)’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), is a social entrepreneur in the...

It is a cloudy day in southern Tanzania as we head to a meeting with the Nema Digital Savings Group. The sky is grey,...

Goal 4, Inclusive and quality education for all, sets high standards to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. For...

In Gujarat, India the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) provides young people opportunities to explore a variety of livelihoods beyond traditional agriculture through its Yuva...

Goal 6, Adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, aims to ensure everyone has access to clean water and sanitation. The Aga Khan...

Can television get people to engage with books? TV often lures people – especially young people – away from reading. But one educator in...

As a nurse with a clinic in northern Côte d’Ivoire, Vehi Pierre has his hands full helping patients. So when his supervisors signed him...

Hurricane Harvey struck the southern Texas coastline on August 25, 2017. The deadly storm became the costliest tropical storm on record, causing $200 billion...

In our civil society programs, we highlight the public and private energies that come together for the public good. A key part of that...

It was very special for me to return to Tanzania last week and participate in the 2nd International Conference on Early Childhood Development (ECD)...

At the recent Global Partners Forum 2017 in Washington, D.C., civil society groups gathered to review the field of social accountability. In a session...

For several years the Aga Khan Foundation, in partnership with Cargill, has helped to grow the Agrarian Institute of Bilibiza and its career development...

Social cohesion — trust and cooperation in society — can be essential in tackling the underlying issues of fragility and conflict. On September 18,...

Universal health coverage is part of the world’s movement toward improved quality of life. The Sustainable Development Goals embody that vision for a healthier...

This is the next in our series about our civil society programs and community philanthropy, which means working with communities to develop local solutions...

This is the third in our series about our civil society programs and community philanthropy, which means working with communities to develop local solutions...

We are thrilled to continue #humansoftheworld, tales we can relate to and marvel at. Throughout this series, we share stories of appreciation, self-reliance, and...

This is the second in our series about our civil society programs and community philanthropy, which means working with communities to develop local solutions...

In our civil society programs, we highlight the public and private energies that come together for the public good. A key part of that...

With your generous support, the Aga Khan Foundation celebrated a remarkable year in 2016. It was a year of progress in providing quality education,...

In Tajikistan, we are focusing on addressing the cornerstones of thriving communities in a Global Development Alliance with the U.S. Agency for International Development...

The Project In late 2013, the Aga Khan Foundation partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Technoserve, the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique and the...

Social cohesion — trust and cooperation in society — can be essential in tackling the underlying issues that can increase the risk of fragility...

Mrs. Ouandja Kone is the president of a women’s water users group in northern Cote d’Ivoire. Her community of Ouazomon has almost 5,000 residents...

The people of India are fully engaged to reaching the government’s goal of increasing sanitation coverage by building 120 million toilets in rural areas. The...

Karishma Bhagani, a graduate of the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa and current New York University student, understands that at the end of the...

This post continues our series on education and child development, highlighting “Skills for a Changing World” a new report, and reflections on Kenyan education included...

In Atlanta, Georgia the leaders at Circle K Atlanta, a group of convenience stores in the Circle K franchise, have been supporters of the...

Happy World Water Day! This year we’re highlighting the Aga Khan Development Network Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative in India. In April 2015, Aga Khan Development...

Ham Serunjogi, a recent graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, traveled widely before landing a job at Facebook. He has a passion for making...

This is the fourth in a series on how the Aga Khan Development Network is building capacity from local governance to regional economic growth....

Here we follow-up with newlyweds Shehzaan and Zainab Chunara, whom we featured last Valentine’s Day for their wedding gift to Aga Khan Foundation. They...

Aleem Mawji is a graduate of the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa currently in his final year of study at the University of British Columbia.

This is the third in a series on how the Aga Khan Development Network is building on local capacity to foster economic growth and...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sometimes called the Global Goals, are a worldwide movement to break the cycle of poverty and ensure all people...

Thomas (Tom) Orr is a Programme Officer with the Aga Khan Foundation Tajikistan in Dushanbe, who first came to Tajikistan as a fellow through...

Najma Shah, a Maryland resident, was a U.S. educator for two decades before moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as Early Years Coordinator at...

This post is the first in a series that will be focusing on local capacity and regional change in Tajikistan. In 2014, the Aga...

Our 2015 Annual Report, “My Story, Our Future,” features four stories from communities where we work that show the connection between individuals and our...

Integrated development is again gaining traction in international development as a process for making lasting change happen. At a panel hosted by the Center...

The 2013 Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. annual report tells five stories of communities overcoming great challenges, in a series we call “Rooted Resilience: From...