L I T E R A C Y C H A N G E S E V E R Y T H I N G
R E G I O N A L C H A L L E N G E S
L I T E R A C Y C H A N G E S E V E R Y T H I N G
In the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, geography has long been destiny. For children in some of the world ' s most remote villages, the distance to the nearest school can mean the difference between a future full of possibility and one defined by what was never learned.
Central Asia Institute exists to close that gap.
CAI brings fundamental literacy and math skills to children who would otherwise grow up without the ability to read, write, or do basic math. But we don ' t stop there. We support girls and boys to finish high school and provide scholarships for graduates. By training and equipping teachers and school officials, we ' re cultivating local leaders who carry change forward long after we ' ve helped plant the seed.
The results ripple outward in ways that are difficult to measure but impossible to miss. Parents who once hesitated now eagerly enroll their daughters. Teachers who once lacked resources now lead with purpose. Communities that once had little access to education are becoming places where learning is expected, valued, and passed on.
Students become teachers. Teachers become principals. Communities become models for others to follow.
That is the CAI impact— and it compounds.
82 %
87 % of CAI-supported students demonstrate comprehensive reading skills in Grade 2
of CAI-supported students demonstrate comprehensive reading skills in Grade 3
of CAI-supported students demonstrate
100 % comprehensive reading skills in Grade 4
10 % of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan are able to read simple text *
* Based on 2025 UNICEF / UNESCO report
R E G I O N A L C H A L L E N G E S
27M + school-aged children remain out of school in Afghanistan & Pakistan *
* Based on 2025 UNICEF / UNESCO report
B U I L D I N G E C O N O M I C F U T U R E S: O N E W O M A N A T A T I M E
P A G E 5 | V O Y A G E
P A G E 5 | 2 0 2 5 I M P A C T R E P O R T
Across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, CAI’ s Women’ s Entrepreneurship Program is transforming skills training into lasting economic change.
In Afghanistan, where few women have access to income, the impacts of CAI’ s pilot program were profound. Of the 102 women trained in 2025 in business development, dairy processing, and mushroom cultivation, 78 launched their own businesses, reporting a 50 percent increase in income within just six months.
In Pakistan, over 65 % of women trained in fruit drying, processing, and packing successfully launched profitable small businesses immediately after completing the program: on average, these women’ s household income increased by 60 percent within the first year. While catastrophic flooding in the summer of 2025 set many of them back, CAI and our partner Moawin Foundation are supporting them to recover, and as always, they are proving resilient and undeterred.
In Tajikistan, the momentum has been extraordinary. Of the 150 women participants in the Entrepreneurship Program, 130 launched enterprises ranging from tailoring and baking to poultry production. On average, participants saw their monthly income surge by 420 percent, rising from $ 195 USD to $ 1,014 USD.
Together, across all three countries, 368 women have been trained, and 283 businesses have been launched, with income gains ranging from 50 to 420 percent. These women are dairy processors, bakers, farmers, and entrepreneurs who are not only serving as role models within their own families and communities but also hiring and training other women— transforming lives, strengthening the resilience and economic vitality of their communities, and changing perceptions of what women can achieve.
C E N T R A L A S I A I N S T I T U T E