Journey of Hope 2026-2027 Digital Print Version (JOOMAG) | Page 3

Journey of HOPE

ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE
IN THIS ISSUE:

2
Letter from the Executive Director

22
Meet New CAI Board Member, Ambassador Jimmy Kolker
By Tonya Andrews

3
Once You Teach a Child to Read: Why the First Years of Learning Matter Most
By Alice Thomas

24
WADAN’ s Quiet Defiance: Building Opportunity for Afghan Women
By Bella Pich

7
The Economics of Exclusion: What It Costs the World When Women and Girls Are Denied the Chance to Learn & Earn
By Emilie Saunders

27
Teaching Against the Odds: The Hidden Heroes of Paksistan’ s Classrooms
By Emilie Saunders

13
Transforming Schools in Tajikistan: Before and After
By Bella Pich

32
A Smarter Way to Give
By Trudy Roberts

17
Learning to Earning: Women Entrepreneurs Rewriting Their Stories
By Emilie Saunders

34
30 Years of Global Support Donor Map
Cover: A school teacher smiles in a classroom in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Lynzy Billing Opposite page: School children walk back home after attending class in Badakshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Omer Abrar
Back cover: Young schoolgirls read in a CBE class in Fayzabad, Afghanistan. Photo by Lynzy Billling th
Inside back cover: 5 grade students hold up CAI backpacks in Parwan Province, Afghanistan. Photo by Shining Star Educational Organization of Afghanistan( SSEOA)
2026-2027 JOURNEY OF HOPE | 1