Strength in STEM: Afghan Girls Building Tomorrow

Strength in STEM: Afghan Girls Building a Better Tomorrow

Donate today. Whether $10, $100, or more, all donations make a difference. Help launch Strength in STEM: Afghan Girls Building a Better Tomorrow. Help show what young females are capable of, despite grave injustice, with the world on their side.

Nora Khorasani was ranked top of her grade 11 class when the Taliban seized power in 2021. Planning a career in math and science, she wanted to teach and transform a generation. She’s more determined than ever. And she needs your support to do so.

Now 17 years old and living in exile, Nora and her younger sister Fatima are preparing to launch Strength in STEM, a not-for-profit venture to build a web-based source of learning and inspiration for Afghan girls living under threat in either Afghanistan, Iran, or Pakistan. Like hundreds of thousands of others, Nora and Fatima are young female Afghan refugees stripped of their right to formal education. Undaunted, they are learning in all ways possible, independently and through the not-for-profit Classrooms Without Walls (CWW), an online learning community led by volunteer educators from around the world, providing informal secondary instruction, lectures by world experts, and leadership training to youth living in conflict zones.

In partnership with CWW, Strength in STEM will invite volunteer instructors and guest speakers to provide informal learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for interested young Afghan females. With help from their growing network, Nora and Fatima will invite speakers from universities around the world to provide webinars so Afghan girls learn of the opportunities available to them beyond current barriers. This web resource will also curate relevant content promoting further STEM and business-related learning so Afghan girls can grow in vital skills and mindsets. The website will be in Farsi and English.

Money raised will support co-founders Nora and Fatima in completing the planning and development phase of Strength in STEM, allowing them to launch by June 2024. Seeking a minimum of $16,000 (all amounts are in Cdn dollars), funding is earmarked for the following: $10,000 to purchase necessary technology, including two laptops, two cell phones, video and audio equipment, reliable internet, and phone plans; $2,000 to support development of their website and learning platform; $1500 to support branding and promotional activity; $1500 to support partner outreach, volunteer recruitment, and related travel expenses; and $1000 to support the creation of instructional resources.

Advisory support and financial oversight is being provided by a team of Canadian professionals in education, business, and not-for-profit leadership who have come to know Nora, Fatima, and their family, and are inspired by their determination and unique potential to pursue this deeply needed mission.

Afghan girls had their dreams stolen by the Taliban. Two Afghan girls are prepared to take them back and reignite the next generation of female STEM leaders in the corner of the world they love.