Background

Long known as the “Heart of Asia,” Afghanistan exists at a crossroads — it is at once East and West, ancient and youthful, full of incredible untapped potential yet simultaneously burdened by economic hardship and centuries of conflict. Afghanistan is a landlocked nation in south-central Asia, at the center of ancient trade routes that once linked Europe, the Middle East and Asia together; modern-day Afghanistan is bordered by Iran and Turkmenistan in the West and North, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the North, China to the East, and India and Pakistan to the East and South.

Throughout its history, Afghanistan has seen military campaigns and retreats by the great empires and powers of the world — from Alexander the Great in the third century B.C. to the Mongols to the British Empire to the Soviet Union to the United States. The modern Afghan state came into being in the 18th century and has seen numerous changes in its form of government since.

Afghanistan is a country of great natural beauty, with harsh deserts, rivers and towering mountains dotting the landscape, and seasons shifting between blistering hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Afghanistan is an intricate mosaic of ethnicities; although no national census has been conducted for decades, estimates approximate that Pashtuns are ~40% of the population, Tajiks are ~30%, Hazara and Uzbeks are 10% each. Afghanistan is host to an incredible diversity of lifestyles — from nomadic tribes that migrate in seasonal patterns to rural farming villages to urban centers such as Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat (about 25% of the population resides in urban centers). Owing to its ethnic diversity, Afghanistan is also a linguistic melting pot; Pashto and Dari are the predominant languages, each with a variety of dialects. Afghanistan is predominantly Muslim.

Afghan society is a youthful one — about 47% of the population is under 15 years of age, and 75% are under 30. Afghanistan’s economy is predominantly agricultural, with major crops including corn, rice, barley, wheat, fruits and nuts. The country holds vast mineral resources–including copper, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, bauxite, coal, iron ore, rare earths, lithium, chromium, zinc, gemstones, marble and more–but due to its history of conflict, those deposits remain largely untapped.

Today, Afghanistan faces unprecedented challenges, with famine, displacement and extreme poverty widespread. REESHA operates with a deep and personal understanding of the rich history and incredible unrealized potential of the people of Afghanistan to forge their own destiny, and all of our work is underpinned by a desire to help the Afghan people overcome daunting obstacles and unlock that potential.