Summaries of projects Giving Yoga helped fund from Sept. 2007-March 2008, through our donations to the Clarence Foundation: 

The American Friendship Foundation

AFF works out of Mazar-i-Sharif in north-central Afghanistan. This area is
the economic hub of northern Afghanistan, and a "melting pot" of languages,
cultures, and religious practices. It is a relatively secure area, and AFF
has developed strong relationships with the communities and the Ministry of
Education. In 2007, we will contribute $20,000 to pay for water systems and
hygiene training to 3 rural schools, north of Mazar-i-Sharif, that together
serve about 3,000 boys and girls. We will continue to provide support for
the development of one of these schools once the initial project is
completed. The school we will support was built in 2005 with the help of a
U.S. corporation. It has 460 boys and 280 girls, taught by 20 teachers and 1
principal. The village is home to two ethnically-diverse communities - Uzbek
and Turkmen. After it was abandoned during decades of war, the village now
has the highest percentage of returned refugees of any in the district. The
village elders repeatedly talked of their strong desire to establish a
school for their children. For two years, classes were held in a mosque,
then later in an abandoned house until the owner of the house returned from
Pakistan, at which time the U.S. corporation provided funds to build the new
school.

Save the Children

SC proposed that we help develop an existing girls' primary school in the
Shamali area that needs significant support. Despite its close proximity to
Kabul, only 68% of boys and 32% of girls in the Shamali area are enrolled in
school. Within the last few years, however, the area has made significant
progress in promoting female education through the establishment of a
Primary Girls' School. The school currently provides education for
grades one through seven. While the school's formation was a step in the
right direction, the school has been unable to provide an acceptable level
of education due to lack of funds. With the funds that SC has requested from
us over a three-year period, SC will work with school staff, the
community and the Ministry of Education to 1) repair and maintain the
school, 2) train and support school staff, 3) promote community-based
activities to support enrollment and attendance, and 4) design and start to
implement an approach to increasing the number of female teachers. We also
hope to fund the addition of grades eight and nine.