Stories Archives | Aga Khan Foundation UK

Now more than ever – the need to build better working relationships from our living rooms

Stories28 August 2020

How do you get a group of more than 100 individuals from 15 organisations based all around the globe, the majority of whom have never met each other, to work together to positively strengthen the world’s education system? This is the challenge facing Schools2030. To deliver on its mandate, Schools2030 will need to work effectively with foundations, schools, governments, students, families and more. The programme – with its very basis in opening up communities of practice and sharing knowledge – needed…

Transforming schools and communities in mountainous northern Pakistan

Stories26 August 2020

In 2016, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) launched the School Improvement Programme (SIP) in northern Pakistan in partnership with local government. Based on AKF’s global “whole-school improvement” model and AKDN’s long-term experience in Pakistan, SIP seeks to improve public sector, community, and low-cost private schools in some of the most marginalised parts of northern…

AKF launches COVID-19 project to address food security in Tajikistan

Stories28 July 2020

An emergency project aimed at reducing Tajikistan’s vulnerability to COVID-19-related food insecurity will benefit an estimated 11,985 people directly, including 5,865 women and girls, and about 80,395 indirectly. The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), with the support of the Government of Switzerland, has successfully launched the project in 12 districts of Khatlon region, Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous…

Living with disability in Uganda during COVID-19 – Martha’s story

Stories16 July 2020

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), in partnership with National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU), has been reaching out to girls and women with disabilities who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with basic necessities and key messaging around prevention and government directives. On March 31st, the Ugandan government announced a nationwide…

EU-funded infrastructure project fosters community spirit in Khorog during COVID-19

Stories30 June 2020

Identified, prioritised and selected by the local community, key infrastructure projects – such as water systems and schools – have been under construction in Khorog, the largest town in Eastern Tajikistan, since October of last year thanks to an EU-funded grant. AKF, in partnership with the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), the Mountain Societies…

Learning must go on — protecting girls’ education in Afghanistan

Stories29 June 2020

For many Afghan girls, accessing a quality education is already wrought with challenges — a situation complicated further due to the pandemic. With the closure of schools, we found out how one community are keeping their girls learning against the odds. Abbas Dara* is a relatively large village for the Andarab district in Baghlan province.…

Combating COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh with ingenuity, innovation and compassion

Stories27 May 2020

Vivak Awasthi has been working with the Aga Khan Foundation’s WASH programmes for a number of years. Since the outbreak, he has used his expertise to help his community in a novel way. When did you first hear about COVID-19? What did you think or feel at that time? The news was everywhere when there was…

AKF Portugal mobilise volunteers to translate key Coronavirus information for migrant communities in Lisbon

Stories4 May 2020

A large number of migrants residing in Lisbon do not speak Portuguese and therefore cannot access key COVID-19 health messages. AKF Portugal has been working with the government and volunteer translators to ensure that they do. AKF Portugal’s Sandra Almeida discusses the work being done by the Foundation and some inspirational volunteers. Briefly, what is…

Aga Khan Trust for Culture-supported women’s craft enterprise in Delhi protects community by producing masks

Stories1 May 2020

Insha-e-Noor is a women’s business set up by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to provide livelihood opportunities to women living in the Nizamuddin Basti, adjoining the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site. Usually, they produce souvenirs inspired from the motifs of the monuments but since the outbreak of Coronavirus they have used their skills to…

The aspiring beauticians of Bamyan

Stories20 February 2020

For many girls in Afghanistan, gaining a secondary education is an achievement against all odds. But for those who do make it this far, there is still a considerable risk that their progress will be undermined by a lack of appropriate employment opportunities for them when they finish their studies. To help them make the…