LETTER FROM THE
Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Five years on from the Taliban’ s takeover of Afghanistan, 25 years since 9 / 11, and more than 25 years into my career in international development, I imagined the world around me would be different by now— let’ s be honest, that it would be better. I pictured more long-fought battles won and the challenges that come with this work feeling more surmountable. That we are not there, or worse, that we have lost ground, can feel disheartening.
But with the years has also come a new perspective. Lately, I’ ve found myself shifting focus from winning the war to not giving in. I’ ve shifted from feeling defeated to drawing strength and inspiration from those around me: my colleagues at Central Asia Institute( CAI), our overseas partners, donors like you who continue to support this work, and above all, the communities we serve, many for over 30 years. In the marginalized mountain regions where CAI works, women and girls have lived their whole lives at ground zero, were born into it. They embodied the word“ resilient” before it became trendy. And again and again, they’ ve proven that, if only given a chance, they will create lasting change.
In this year’ s issue of Journey of Hope, we highlight this same contrast between the continued struggle, on the one hand, and unbounded success and achievement on the other. We focus on the true cost of excluding women and girls both in terms of dollars( a stunning $ 30 trillion globally) and the lost potential of individual human beings. But we also focus on the other side of the ledger. The stories in this issue illustrate what becomes possible when girls can learn and women can build livelihoods of their own. The resulting change is rarely confined to one person or one household. As one article notes,“ When women gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to build livelihoods of their own, the effects travel far beyond a single harvest, product, or paycheck. They spread through families, across generations, and into communities.”
As the world changes around us, as new threats and challenges emerge, we are so grateful for your enduring commitment to improving education and economic opportunity in one of the most volatile regions of the world. I hope you, like me, will draw strength and inspiration from the boundless potential that is unleashed with each and every life we touch.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Alice R. Thomas, Executive Director Central Asia Institute
2 | 2026-2027 JOURNEY OF HOPE
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE