Girls' Education and Humanitarian Aid
Educational Programs
Our program of community-based education provides schooling to girls who might otherwise not become educated. Community-based education is recognized as a best practice and the most practical method to overcoming systemic and cultural barriers to girls’ education.
Zabuli Education Center
The Zabuli Education Center (ZEC) is a private, K-6 school for girls located in the rural village of Deh'Subz, about an hour outside of Kabul. Since 2008, the school has provided free, exemplary education to over 1,000 students along with uniforms, shoes, warm coats, healthy meals, school supplies, clean bathrooms, and safe transportation.​
ZEC students range in age from 4 to 12. Prior to enrollment, students take placement tests to assess academic level, as students of the same age can vary widely in grade level.​
In 2019, the Zabuli Education Center was one of four schools to receive the Ministry’s excellence award from among 140 public and private schools in Kabul Province.
Community Support Programs
​Girls in Afghanistan face some of the most significant barriers to education in the world, including governmental interference, child labor, child marriage, prohibitive cultural norms, as well as logistical and economic barriers such as inability to afford school or school supplies, lack of transportation, and extreme food insecurity.
Nutrition Program
RRH launched a multi-faceted nutrition program in Spring 2022, which includes serving meals to students in school, sending students home with food and supplies to support the nutritional needs of their whole family, and distributing food packages to other families in need in our community.
Clothing Distribution
RRH is proud to provide uniforms to students who may otherwise miss school due to lack of appropriate clothing. In addition to uniforms we distribute clothing such as coats and shoes.
Menstrual & Hygiene Health
RRH’s Menstrual Health and Hygiene Program distributes hygiene essentials to over 2,000 girls and women, with provisions of menstrual products, laundry and body soap, shampoo, and new underwear.
Widows' Program
To ease the suffering of Afghan women who have lost their husbands, in 2021 Razia's Ray of Hope began collaborating with Beyond the 11th, a humanitarian organization that partners with international aid groups to provide job training and economic opportunity to Afghan widows.
On Hold Programs
The following programs are currently on hold due to restrictions on girls' education in Afghanistan.
Secondary Education
Secondary Education for 7-12th grade girls is currently on hold due to restrictions on girls' education.
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We provide students with a well-rounded education from which they can respond to the needs of their communities. For each year of secondary school that a girl completes, she delays the birth of her first child by one year.
Mobile Library
Afghanistan’s 7-12th grade girls are banned from the classroom. Our Mobile Library delivers books to out-of-school adolescent girls to support ongoing literacy and recreational reading for homebound girls. The Mobile Library serves the literacy of over 600 adolescent girls who would otherwise not have access to books outside of their homes.
Teacher Training
In addition to offering English and Computer Literacy classes, the Razia Jan Institute offers a two year degree program preparing young women to take national exams to become certified K-6th grade teachers.
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Girls in Afghanistan are often only permitted to attend classes taught by female educators; the certification of female teachers is essential to the sustainability of girls' education in Afghanistan.
Midwifery Program
Our tuition-free program provides midwifery certification training in conjunction with the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. RJI graduates are trained community health care workers who provide lifesaving services to a severely medically-underserved area while improving social, health, and economic outcomes for themselves and their villages.