Abasha Annual Report 2021

Dear Abasha Members,

2021 was a challenging and decisive year for us. The unprecedented changes in Afghanistan led to the abrupt closure of our partner organization in Kabul. The Peace and Freestyle Organization (PFO) was initiated by the local youth three years ago and implemented the “Drop and Ride” program with sport and education activities for boys and girls. It has taken decades for Afghan civil society to flourish. The decades of freedom have enabled many young Afghans to educate themselves, pursue their ambitions and take an active role in shaping their society. But civil actors can only act in a safe way if the basic security conditions are maintained. The rapid withdrawal of international troops suddenly placed actors of the Afghan civil society in imminent danger. Many humanitarian rights achieved through military and civilian efforts were not safeguarded and are lost by now. Minorities and vulnerable groups require further protection to be able to stay in the country.

2021 also had positive developments for Abasha. Earlier this year, the active members of Abasha were able to vote on our new partner project: The Girls Future in Busia, Kenya. The organization supports young girls and boys with computer courses, donations of hygiene products and sports tournaments, thereby contributing to personal empowerment and helping young people to stay away from violence and drugs. We are excited about the cooperation over the coming years!

We also worked on many other topics during this busy year: We were able to further develop Abasha as a platform to enable digital volunteering for small organizations around the world. We were joined by many new active members, motivated to use their skills to grow grass-root sport and education programs. We met in person for the first time, during our Get-Together in the summer. We have revised our legal documents, even updating the statutes of the organization in our yearly assembly of 2021. Thanks to every team member contributing to these efforts!

For the next years, we aim to increase the impact of Abasha by growing the number of partner organizations and their beneficiaries. These ambitious plans wouldn’t be possible without the support of every member and donor. Thank you!