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What We Believe
Mission
The Mission of PARWAZ is to empower the women of Afghanistan to rise from poverty by enabling them to build micro businesses, increase their income, reduce their vulnerability, and to become economic agents of change in their families, communities and country.
Vision
To create sustainable livelihoods and significantly enhance income and economic security while reducing vulnerability for large numbers of urban low income women clients in Afghanistan through the delivery of sustainable and tailor made financial services.
Goals and Objectives
- To reach full financial sustainability by year 2011
- To maintain high portfolio quality
- To maintain high on-time repayment rate
- To enhanced incomes and economic security for clients and their families
- To empower Afghan women—economically and socially
Since inception, PARWAZ has met the needs of clients beyond just issuing credit for a micro business. First, the income from the loan allows women to work independently at home while taking care of household chores and children. Second, clients have the freedom of not having to ask relatives for loans and not being indebted to money lenders who charge high amount of interest. Third and perhaps the most important, a client can provide for her children’s educational needs—in particular because she can bring an income to the household the children can attend school instead of begging in the streets of the city.
History
PARWAZ, a Dari word meaning “to rise” or “to fly” is the first woman led Microfinance institution for Afghans by Afghans in Kabul, Afghanistan. Established in the fall of 2002 with the help of Global Exchange, a human rights organization in San Francisco Bay Area and Women’s World Banking in New York, PARWAZ is a grass roots organization based on the belief that women’s long-term success in society is dependent upon self-reliance and economic empowerment.
In March, 2002, Ms. Katrin Fakiri, Founding Managing Director of PARWAZ and Co-Founder of Society of Afghan Professionals, accompanied members of the advisory committee that was established to research the possibility of Microfinance in Afghanistan. The team conducted a preliminary study and made vital initial contacts. The group included Nicola Armacost from Women’s World Banking, Rona Popal, president of the Afghan Women’s Association; Kirsten Moller, Global Exchange co-founder; human rights activist Bianca Jagger; and journalist and Global Exchange board member, T.T. Nhu.
Carefully planned and run completely by an experienced Afghan staff, PARWAZ provides financial services in the form of credit and savings to disadvantaged and poor women so they can start their own micro businesses and thus take a step towards improving their socio-economic situation. PARWAZ was one of the first organizations to provide Microfinance in Kabul. The strength of the PARWAZ lies in the fact that it is a local NGO for Afghans by Afghans and is managed by experienced Afghan Microfinance practitioners, which enables it to understand the cultural values of the people and foresee potential problems and to take preventative measures when designing the methodology and selecting target groups for its program. The methodology of delivery of micro credit is designed with first hand knowledge of Afghan cultural boundaries and nuances combined with Microfinance best practices.