Greetings!

When I first began, I referred to Afghans as Afghanis for over a year, before I was informed that they're not. Afghani is the currency of Afghanistan. Afghans are Afghans not Afghanis.

We make a pitch for contributions once a year. This is it. Why? 31% of charitable donations are made in December. There's history to report for newcomers and summaries of progress for those who have contributed. Ergo an annual report.

By way of executive summary I can honestly report that dollar for dollar TIE has had and continues to have a phenomenal impact on thousands of Afghan families for very little money. For example, we have 25 Afghans on payroll, 23 of whom are paid $200 a month or less. Our salaries are commensurate with salaries in Afghanistan. Check out the sponsorship report below. The $50 per month the sponsored children receive can be and in most cases it is life altering.

I've made a discovery worth sharing. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon. How can one resist? I order something one day and it's on my porch sitting next to your clothing within two days. I opened an Amazon smile account thinking it was insignificant .5% of my purchases goes to TIE. It isn't that much but what if TIE received .5% of all the Amazon purchases made by TIE contributors. Let's find out. I'll report the outcome in 2020's annual report. There's a box below that will lead you to setting up a smile account. The regular Amazon account doesn't have this feature.

What we packed in September is in Afghanistan. Basir just spent two days and one night outside the gate at Bagram waiting for permission to get in. Having not made it on the admission list, after all that time, the three trucks and drivers he'd hired left. It's very cold and they wouldn't wait any more. No one can blame there. Stay tuned. Report and photos to follow.

Enjoy the Holidays,

Budd


— SOME HISTORY —

In 2003 it became necessary to create a name for the organization. The acronym TIE came first. The name, Trust in Education, was chosen after the acronym. The goal was and continues to be serving as a link (tie) between Afghan families and people in the United States who care about them. What we are able to accomplish depends entirely on the support we receive. Fortunately, support has grown over time, as has our ability to provide. We've also learned what works and doesn't

We place our trust in education. It’s the solution to almost everything. Educated women are less dependent upon men and educated men are much more likely to support equal rights for women. Moreover, educated men and women have more choices in life.

Partnerships between TIE and Afghan villagers have formed through the years. Together we prioritize needs based upon the nature of the impact, number of people affected, and cost. TIE has provided funding to build schools, bridges, dams, soccer fields, libraries and more. TIE also provided 22,000 fruit trees in 2006 that are producing commercial quantities of fruit today. Labor for TIE’s projects is provided by Afghan volunteers dedicated to the improvement and revitalization of their communities.
— EDUCATION —

Afghans and Americans agree that education is the key to making long-term improvements in Afghanistan. Afghans want better schools and a broader education for their children and are willing to take personal risks to educate their daughters. We support these families by making certain they have teachers, books, school supplies, and a place to learn.

We now have ten computer libraries utilized by over 700 children a day, sixty percent of whom are girls. The libraries enable Afghan children to learn at their own pace and on their own time. Wherever possible English classes are also provided.

Thanks to Gerard van Steyn, one thousand Khan Academy math videos were translated into Dari that are available online and in our libraries. 

Sally Mecham, Director of the nonprofit Hoopoe Books, has been providing girls and boys in Afghanistan with children’s books in their own language for years. Sally stepped in and all nine of our computer libraries have Hoopoe book's twelve titles. 
— SPONSORSHIP —

Suzanne Rogge has made our most effective and verifiable program an unqualified success; the Sponsorship of Street Children. Basir and Qudsia, our program directors, find children working on the streets of Kabul worthy of sponsorship. They nor their parents want them to be on the streets. But, their families need the income they generate. The total cost to free a child from the streets is $660 a year, paid to them at the rate of $50 per month with $60 applied to administrative costs. This meager sum has completely altered the lives of sponsored children and their families. To date 139 students have been sponsored.


— PACKING PARTY —

This was our 11th year and largest yet. 674 boxes were packed, compared to 490 last year! Our packing parties are supported by over 100 volunteers who pack donations of clothing, shoes, school and kitchen supplies, blankets, toys, sports equipment and other donations into large boxes. These are then flown to Afghanistan for free through the Denton program and distributed to families living in refugee camps. 
For the 4th year in a row our shipment also included 30 cases of RedVines donated by the American Licorice Company!
— JEWELRY —

For the past few years we have been selling Afghan lapis jewelry in our booth during the Art & Wine festival .The jewelry draws people to our booth who might otherwise pass by. Let's face it, the jewelry is bait. It draws people in. For many, TIE's booth has become a destination point every year and the support for TIE has increased as a result.

Suzanne solved two challenges. First, several women have commented that they loved the lapis but the pieces were "too ethnic" or "too heavy". We needed something "simple". Second, we've been trying unsuccessfully for well over a year to purchase jewelry directly from a woman jeweler in Kabul. They are very difficult to find. Most jewelry is sold by and through men, as is most commerce. By diligently pursuing a complicated and circuitous route Suzanne found one, Massouda. Our bait now supports a female entrepreneur in Afghanistan and provides beautiful "ethnic" and "simple" Afghan lapis jewelry for existing and potential supporters of our projects and programs. 

Massouda supports her large family, including parents and many siblings, through her jewelry business. Available online via our Etsy store or our website.

— OUR RAISON D'ETRE —
Over the years I’ve often been asked, “Why Afghanistan”? A few are forward enough to also say “We have problems here”. The shortest answer is, we can do both. One does not preclude the other. 
A somewhat longer response is, “here” is not a place. Here is where we define it. For some, “here” means family and close friends. Others include their local community.
My “here” now includes the world, having seen what I’ve seen during my twenty visits to Afghanistan. I understood early on that the difference between “them” and me is where I was born. If you were to visit Afghanistan, your “here” would also include Afghanistan. Of this, I’m certain.
Finally there is a historical moral imperative for helping Afghan families. In 1979 the United States began financing the mujahedeen (“freedom fighters”) in Pakistan to wage war inside Afghanistan. Very few know that the support began before the Russians invaded. The purpose in providing support to the mujahedeen was, according to Zbigniew Brezezinski, national security advisor to President Carter to draw the Russians in “so Russia could get its Viet Nam”. 
Ten years later, in 1989, the Russians were driven out and the Berlin wall came down shortly thereafter. The Soviet Union “disintegrated and dissolved into fifteen separate countries”. Three years later in 1992 we discontinued all humanitarian aid. “Mission accomplished”, causing five million Afghans to flee their homes and one million to lose their lives.
The warlords we had armed to bring down the Soviet Union fought for control of the country. Forty years later the fighting continues and we are winding down our military commitment. Will we abandon the Afghan people again and discontinue humanitarian aid? TIE supporters won’t.
A Taliban captive reportedly said “Americans have the watches but we have the time”. TIE and it's supporters are making the time and have been for 16 years.
How Can You Help TIE?
Trust in Education | www.TrustinEducation.org