BUILDING HEALTHY AFGHAN COMMUNITIES

PARSA

Founded in 1996, PARSA is a private non-governmental organization

working directly with the disadvantaged people of Afghanistan. PARSA

supports communities as they make their own development solutions,

focusing on promoting social change and a healthy and fair society for

all people but especially women and children.

PARSA Building Healthy Afghan Communities

Mission Statement:

OUR HISTORY

Founded as: “Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support

for Afghanistan” we are now known as PARSA

Founders: Mary McMakin, Yasin Farid, Palwasha Madomi

Original work focused on physiotherapy and help for

disabled Afghans, widows and orphans

Marnie Gustavson became Executive Director in 2005

PARSA has evolved into a dynamic organization

with a community-based approach to development

PARSA Today

PARSA Focuses on:

Developing Local Ownership for Building Healthy Afghan Communities

PARSA Approach

We asked ourselves and our beneficiaries:

What makes a community healthy? Our Answers:

Family and community are cared for and there is no violence. Everyone has human rights. Children are

confident, creative, love Allah and are valued. Each adult has access to ways to make money to sustain their family. Our village is clean and free of disease. Our animals are

healthy. We are honest and support each other in the time-honored Afghan way.

PARSA Approach

We enter a new community and focus on one of the three

aspects necessary for Building Healthy Afghan

Communities:

Building Economies for Women

Building Youth

Leadership

Building Healthy Families

Building Economies for Women:

Trade Afghan and PARSA’s Women’s Economic Programs

Our women’s programs give the highly skilled women of Afghanistan the ability to become

breadwinners for their families and earn respect in their communities.

Trade Afghan Women’s Businesses is a network of businesswomen from across the country who have joined together to

be part of the Trade Afghan product line.

Our other economic programs also support

women in product development, skills

training and agriculture.

Building Youth Leadership:PARSA’s Afghan Scouts and

Voice of Afghan Youth

PARSA believes strongly in the importance of developing strong,

educated leaders who will play important roles

in the future of their country.

PARSA’s Afghan Scouts have over 1800 Scouts

in 12 provinces that engage in leadership training, civil service,

and more.

Voice of Afghan Youth is a new TV and radio program that will

showcase the talents of Afghan youth.

Building Healthy Families:Psychosocial Programs

Afghanistan has seen conflict for thirty

years and the resulting

psychological trauma runs deep. PARSA’s

psychosocial programs train

Afghan psychosocial professionals in how

to respond to the needs of patients with

traumatic backgrounds, such as

those living in battered women’s

shelters, orphanages and refuge camps.

Where PARSA Operates

PARSA

operates in

communities in

12 provinces.

Sometimes our

programs are

province-wide,

sometimes in

very specific

locations.

Community-Based Approach

Exploring our PARSA

approach via case studies

of select communities we

work in:

Dost-i-Barchi, Kabul

Bamiyan

Government Orphanages

Shamsa Village Orphanage, Kabul

Marastoon, Kabul

Battered Women’s Shelters

Faizabad

Case #1: Dost-i-Barchi

Group of Kabul women who organize their own cooperative and request support from PARSA when necessary, such as:

Supplying a teacher for a literacy course

Providing training in embroidery etc.

Helping to find markets for women- made products

Providing jobs for women who work on the PARSA Farm

Women’s Economic

Program

Case #2: Bamiyan

Trade Afghan, Afghan Scouts

One of PARSA’s longest standing partner-communities and the heart of the women’s economic programs.Currently 180 women enrolled in Trade AfghanPARSA supports the women in materials and training for economic activities, provides a plot of land for farming, and a location for their women’s centerWorking in the cave communitiesOver 220 Scouts registered province-wide, 8 Scout Masters trained

Case #3: Government Orphanages

Afghan Scouts, Psychosocial

PARSA has a long history of work in the government run orphanages,

including:

Advocating for improved conditions in orphanages nation wide

Establishing Scout Troops in 5 orphanages, with 40% girls enrolled

Providing psychosocial and social work training to orphanage caregivers

Voice of Afghan Youth will work with orphanages where Scout Troops are established to showcase the positive aspects of the children’s lives

Case #4: Shamsa Village Orphanage

Afghan Scouts, Psychosocial

PARSA worked to help establish Shamsa as a model, private Kabul orphanage based on the “SOS Children’s Village” model:

Providing psychosocial training to the orphanage “mothers”

Monthly activity days at Marastoon for the children

Establishment of a Scout Troop

Working with partner organizations to improve conditions in the orphanage.

Case #5: Marastoon

Women’s Economic, Afghan Scouts

Location of PARSA’s main offices:

PARSA tailor shop and gift shop

Friday brunches for the Kabul community

Afghan Scouts troops and main Scout building where events are held

PARSA Farm – agricultural training for women, selling of fresh milk, produce and eggs

Case #6: Women’s Shelters

Psychosocial, Women’s Economic

Battered Women’s Shelters in Kabul are an incredibly important refuge for women escaping abuse:

•PARSA provides psychosocial training to the caregivers working in the shelters in three regions

•Trains women in basic skills, such as making jam or fudge, so that they can earn a small income via our Trade Afghan program

Case #7: Faizabad

Psychosocial, Women’s Economics

PARSA has worked in Badakhshan in the past and decided to restart our program there after the Argo

landslide of 2014

Supporting psychosocial efforts for the families of Argo landslide victims

Launching a province-wide branch of Trade Afghan

Scout Troops established in the National Orphanage

Focus province for Voice of Afghan Youth

Community-Based Approach

PARSA may seem overwhelming because there is so

much variety in the work what we do. We have realized

that being flexible with our programs in a way that

suits the unique needs of each community is much

more effective than trying to implement a single rigid

program across a range of diverse communities.

Complexity in program structure is a requirement

of a community-based approach to development.

And our approach works.

www.afghanistan-parsa.org

Red Crescent Compound, Marastoon, Afshar, Kabul

contact@afghanistan-parsa.org

Marnie Gustavson: +93(0)799 020 588

PARSA Building Healthy Afghan Communities

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