About Us

Joint Message from the Executive Director and President

Working at Afghan Women’s organization has truly been rewarding for us both. This is primarily because we work with a remarkable group of board members, managers, staff and volunteers. These individuals work hard every day touching and transforming the lives of refugees and newcomers who have made Canada their home.

We have developed an outstanding reputation for delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Our services are focused but not limited to those who experience war and violence, and refugee women and their families who constitute a very unique segment of our society. Their need is unique and requires very special care, attention and experience. Since the majority of our staff and board members have personal experience of being refugees, they have first hand understanding of the needs of our clients. This is what makes our organization unique and special.

As a result of the tireless efforts of the board, management, staff and volunteers, we have some successes to celebrate! We had more clients interested in seeking our services. We had an increase in the number of volunteers, particularly seniors. We expanded our collaboration with other organizations. In addition, our organization received much needed resources in order to establish after school programs for children, parenting programs for women and a program to promote gender equality among newcomer families.

In past years our work was not without its challenges. Most of our clients were deeply affected by the difficult and unpredictable economic times. Our organization tried to help these clients through our job search program. However, there were limited opportunities for employment. Also, many of our clients from the Afghan community were impacted by the continuous instability and loss of innocent lives in Afghanistan since they had left loved ones back home or in refugee camps. This had a significant impact on their speedy settlement in Canada. Further, there was a great demand for our youth and seniors programs, however, we were unable to meet these needs due to lack of resources. We will seek to build resources in the upcoming year in order to meet these needs.

We have weathered these tests with our resolve strengthened – to continue to deliver the best service we can. In the years ahead, that will mean ongoing efforts to expand our resources and focus on working as efficiently as possible to maximize the resources we have. It has been our privilege being involved with an organization so dedicated to improving the future of refugees and newcomers in our society and ultimately building a stronger community for all of us.

Adeena Niazi, Executive Director

Asma Faizi, President