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Social Development

Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) USA, established in 1981, raises funds for AKDN social development programmes. It focuses on sustaining contacts with key donor agencies and forming partnerships with others.

Over the past 11 years, the 212,000 people who participated in the AKF Walks have raised over $26 million for development programmes in poor countries.It also manages programmes geared toward immigrant families in several American cities. The Learning Centres for Parents and Children (LCPC) programme, which is managed by the Aga Khan Education Board with financial support from AKF USA, has been operating for over a decade in Houston. More recently, LCPCs have been replicated in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago and Dallas. These centres for parents and children between the ages of three and six are based on the Montessori and High Scope concepts of learning, which encourage teachers and parents to engage with their children in a positive, informed, active and regular (PIAR) manner with a view to strengthening their relationships. The programme caters to the special needs of immigrant families by encouraging parent participation and providing a wide range of learning opportunities for pre-school children. LCPC has also run a Women’s Development Programme, which aims to strengthen the skills for English as a Second Language for mothers; provide them with alternatives for economic empowerment; and enable them to explore personal and professional growth by providing a safe place for their children while they study. Launched in the Houston centre, the initiative has expanded to Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

The AKF USA office is also involved in major fund-raising events, which take the form of Partnership Walks, Partnership Golf Days and Balls. The Partnership Walks, which are held in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. Over the past 11 years, the 212,000 people who participated in the Walks have raised over $26 million for development programmes in poor countries.

All these events are supported by companies and individual sponsors, and rely on the dedication of hundreds of volunteers, who contribute many months of their time and energy to raise awareness of the work of AKF and the agencies of AKDN. Thanks to the funds raised over the years, millions of people in selected countries of Africa and Asia have benefited directly from the many projects that focus on their welfare. Typically, tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life walk in several America cities and raise millions of dollars for AKDN programmes.