I've already been asked a several times just in the past few days what this trip is about and why I want to go to Afghanistan. Here is a brief background.
Since 2007, Flatirons has focused most of its attention on community development in Afghanistan. Afghanistan ranks 181st out of 182 countries on the UN Human Development Index (the UN HDI measures life expectancy, education, and standard of living). The focus is on development through initiatives in health care, education, and economics. Our primary involvement rests in focusing on working with returning Afghan refugees and IDPs (Internally Displaced People). Since 2002, more than five million Afghan refugees have returned to their home country, increasing the population by over 20% according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. This scale of people returning to a country that has suffered from decades of war puts a great deal of stress on infrastructures that have been destroyed. We helped fund three key infrastructures in a new community made up of around 4,000 former IDPs: a school, a clinic, and a water system that provides safe drinking water. We continue to help fund these ongoing operations to create a sustainable economic situation for the residents of this new community.
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