AFGHAN AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION – FACT SHEET:
- VISION
Life skills for a better future for displaced and disadvantaged people in Afghanistan
- MISSION STATEMENT
The Afghan Australian Development Organisation is a voluntary, non-profit, non-government, member organisation. Its primary purpose is to implement projects that assist in the reconstruction and sustainable development of communities within Afghanistan. Within Australia, AADO seeks to support the Afghan community.
- ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND
AADO was established in Australia in 2002, by Dr Nouria Salehi, OAM, AADO Executive Director and an Afghan-Australian, after many years of privately assisting Afghans to settle in Australia and raising funds to help individuals and families in Afghanistan. AADO was established with the aim of providing community development assistance and emergency relief aid to the people in Afghanistan through the donation of aid, vocational training and related infrastructure from Australia, with the assistance of a local Afghan project management team.
AADO is registered as an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) with the Ministry of Economy (MoE) in Afghanistan and is incorporated in Victoria, Australia. AADO is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and is a signatory to the council’s Code of Conduct, which defines minimum standards of governance, management, financial control and reporting with which Australian non-government development organisations (NGDOs) should comply.
In Australia, AADO assists newly arrived Afghan refugees and immigrants, supports Afghan Australian communities, raises awareness about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and advocates for just refugee policy. In Afghanistan, AADO empowers Afghan people by providing opportunities to access education and vocational training, advance sustainable livelihoods, improve health and build stronger communities.
The focus of AADO’s work is the creation of formal and non-formal educational opportunities for disadvantaged Afghans. In the last nine years, AADO has implemented projects in Kabul, Herat and Qarabagh provinces, providing vocational training, basic literacy, numeracy and health training, in-service teacher training and resources for educational institutions. AADO works with women and girls, particularly in rural communities, to improve their access to education, health care and employment, to overcome discrimination and to protect their human rights, while respecting Afghan culture and traditions.
AADO has established a Teacher Training Centre in Kabul with the capacity to simultaneously train 50 – 60 mathematics and science teachers to deliver the approved Government secondary science and mathematics curriculum. This program has the formal endorsement of the Afghan Ministry of Education. In 2009 AADO received an award for excellence from the MoE for its dedication and success in re-training science teachers. To date, in March 2011, AADO has trained 893 secondary science teachers, 400 rural women and girls in life skills, and 20 young street-working men as carpenters, in addition to installing a number of deep water wells and sanitation facilities in schools and community centres.
AADO has received funding from, amongst others, The Portland House Foundation, SMEC Foundation, AusAID, The Asia Foundation, Cabrini Health, Melbourne Community Foundation and the Planet Wheeler Foundation, as well as ongoing donations from concerned individuals in Australia.