May 4th-11th join us on a trek and cultural adventure to the beautiful Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. There is also an optional pre-trek tour with Marshall Direct Fund to visit sights in and around Islamabad, meet students at MDF schools, and participate in cultural activities in Pakistan May 1st-4th.

We suggest participants raise $2,500 in sponsorship to support Marshall Direct Fund’s mission in educating children and women in Pakistan to improve relations between the West and Muslim world. All proceeds raised are tax deductible. For more information on the trip details and prices please see http://www.klimb4kashmir.org. 

The trip has been carefully planned each day with meals and lodging provided throughout the trek. For more information in regards to the step-by-step details, you can find a full itinerary at One World Trekking

We hope to see you on May 1st in Pakistan and/or May 4th in Nepal for an amazing once in a lifetime experience!

The snow is falling, holiday lights are being hung, and The Gallerie

is hosting a trunk show soiree to support Marshall Direct Fund!
This upcoming Friday, December 14th, please  join us at The Gallerie
and change the lives of women and children in Pakistan through
education.

The Gallerie is a high end boutique in Aspen that carries finely
chosen women’s and men’s fashion. Recently, The Gallerie launched
their own line, Gray, inspired by natural surroundings between the
Mountains of Aspen and Beaches of California, as well as the designers
love for high style. They are long time supporters of MDF that have
offered fashion advice and market demand info to female entrepreneurs
in Pakistan. They plan to carry the products that disadvantaged women
in Pakistan are starting to create. In the meantime, they are donating
10% of all items sold during the trunk sale to benefit MDF. We hope to
see you there!

Details: Friday, December 14th at 5:00 to 7:30pm
Location: The Gallerie 520 East Durant Avenue, Aspen

Find exquisite Christmas gifts that  support a good cause.  To RSVP
please contact 970-544-4893 or email thegallerie@hotmail.com.

Malala’s father ran a girls’ school in Swat Valley, a mountainous region with over 1,000,000 residents close to the country’s capital, Islamabad.  In 2009, the world watched in horror as the Taliban took over Swat and instituted its gruesome system of law and order.  When the Taliban ordered girls’ schools be closed, Malala and her father defied their orders, kept their school open, and courageously defended the right of education for girls.  During the terrifying reign of the Taliban, Malala fearlessly blogged her experience for the BBC and was featured in documentaries by The New York Times.

As Malala fights for her life in a hospital bed, the world is reminded of the perilous state of affairs in Pakistan.  Predicted to be the world’s fourth most populous country by 2050, Pakistan has over 17 million school-aged children out of school – that means one in ten of the world’s out of school children resides in Pakistan!  Public education is inaccessible to most children and when it is accessible much of the curriculum enforces rote learning and a narrow-minded worldviews that fuels negative stereotypes.  Private schools are cost-prohibitive to most families of the country as they survive on less than $2 a day.  The other alternative, madrassas (religious schools), offer limited knowledge with their focus on religious education.  What future lays ahead for the children, particularly the girls of Pakistan?

The fact that Malala was targeted by the Taliban is evidence that they know that education of girls will be their undoing. Since educated girls bring about economic growth faster to a country than any other measure, the unstable, illiterate, impoverished, black market gun-running and drug-smuggling friendly environment extremists thrive in will no longer be available to them when all girls go to school.

At MDF we are convinced that education, awareness of cultural diversity, and economic empowerment build the groundwork for peace in a region of the world critical to international security.  Currently we are the only organization in the Roaring Fork Valley providing education to girls in Pakistan. We are keeping daily tabs on the health of Malala and have great hope for her survival, for her vision to become a reality.

Girls in Pakistan need access to quality education where they are taught multiple subjects, critical thinking, and learn skills to support entry into the workforce so they can overcome conditions of poverty. The Girl Effect is well known in the International Development world but what is needed here is The Malala Effect.  Girls in conflict countries are given the least amount of support than any human being on the face of the earth.  Investing in girls in conflict countries will do more than just eradicate poverty and illiteracy, it provides an additional return on investment, it helps create peace and stability.  For people interested in supporting the dreams of Malala, please consider supporting MDF, we have a scholarship fund specifically for girls. Please visit our website at www.marshalldirectfund.org. Thank you to all of our current donors. You can also donate to the Malala Family Fund that has been set up. You can also join the campaign to save Malala and girls’ education.

MDF has been competing in the School Enterprise Challenge, a business competition to reward entrepreneurship in schools across the globe. This involves submitting a business plan and review of results of student-led enterprises. You can follow MDF’s vocational school progress via blog: http://peaceoftheaction.wordpress.com/ The competition distributes over $40,000 in prizes, encourages global partnerships between schools and empowers students with valuable skills to tackle new business endeavors.

MDF is the proud recipient of the October, 2012 blog of the month award!

Congratulations Shehrbano

Shehrbano Taseer

Pakistani journalist and daughter of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, Shehrbano Taseer, received a Human Rights Award during an annual award dinner in New York City on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

Human Rights First honored Shehrbano “for her courage in carrying out her father’s legacy of religious tolerance.” She has published a series of op-ed pieces calling for change in Pakistan, and has openly criticized those who  glorify her father’s murderer, said the press release.

Please click here to read the full article Promoting Religious Tolerance

‘Constitution envisages compulsory education up to secondary level’

Daily Times – Friday, September 09, 2011

KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister for Education & Literacy Pir Mazharul Haq has said that the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan provides for free and compulsory education from primary to secondary level and the state is responsible to implement the same.

In his message, read out by Secretary Education Muhammad Siddique Memon to the participants of a walk held here on Thursday to mark World Literacy Day, the minister quoted the Article 37/B of constitution, which says, “Free and compulsory education up to secondary level is the constitutional obligation of the state”.

He said the theme of International Literacy Day is ‘Literacy and Peace’ which make people independent and ensure their participation in social system to enlighten them with civil rights. The literacy also builds self-confidence in the people and enhances their interest for participation in political and social system.

He said literacy is essential for the eradication of poverty, curbing of population growth, achieving gender equity and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. “Literate people are better geared to meet pressing development challenges,” he added.

He said the Provincial Plan of Action 2003 on Education For All (EFA) was being prepared in the wake of challenges being faced by the Sindh government in achieving the goals set by Jometin Conference 1990, subsequently revised in Dakkar Conference 2000.

Present Peoples’ government is taking serious efforts to achieve the targets before the specified time till 2015, he said.

EFA Units have been established in all 23 districts and at provincial level in the year 2008-09 as the first step towards positive progress.

Awareness campaigns were initiated at union council, taluka/town, district, regional and provincial level to aware the people about the dangers of illiteracy and their responsibilities individually and jointly at all levels.

Girls’ enrollment was also enhanced through re-opening of 400 closed girls’ schools through Rural Support Programmes, in which 12,000 girls students continued their education.

To read the article please click here.

A printer friendly copy is available here Daily Times – Site Edition [Printer Friendly Version]

This summer, after nearly two years of bureaucratic wrangling, the first of Pakistan’s famous mangoes will appear in fruit aisles across the United States. Unfortunately, their arrival will turn few heads. Though officially the world’s sweetest mango (by scientific consensus) the fortunes of this newest export seem unlikely to fill the schedule of Pakistan’s eloquent ambassador to Washington, Hussein Haqqani. Rather, it is the bitter state of his country’s already sour relations with the United States that will tax his talents for the foreseeable future. Long dubious of Islamabad’s commitment to the fight against militant Islam, American officials and lawmakers have been increasingly inclined to read the discovery of Osama bin Laden in the town of Abbottobad as damning evidence of complicity at the upper levels of Pakistan’s intelligence establishment. Now, the murky circumstances surrounding an unsuccessful raid on two bomb-making facilities have led the Obama administration to announce the suspension, or even cancellation, of nearly $800 million from the more than $2 billion in assistance provided annually to its South Asian ally. But should the mango’s arrival be so easily ignored?

The furor in Washington over Pakistan’s lukewarm commitment to the ‘War on Terror’ is hardly undeserved – CIA Deputy Director Michael J Morell rated Pakistan’s cooperation on counterterrorism operations as a “three” on a scale of ten – yet the question is not whether funds should be cut, but how they should be allocated. U.S. policy in Pakistan is understandably dominated by America’s interests in neighboring Afghanistan. Accordingly, the vast majority of aid to Pakistan is composed of security assistance, and the cooperation won by this largesse has been vital to military efforts in the region. But the blind bundling of foreign policy into one security-focused ‘Af-Pak’ package fatally ignores the human element of counterterrorism. American predator drone strikes may effectively “bug splat” (as the lingo goes) bad guys, but they are essentially negative in nature. Even if their targets are destroyed without killing innocents, – which 90% of Pakistanis do not believe to be the case – their success will only prevent destruction, not create growth. The cultivation of an export market for Pakistani mangos in America might, on the other hand, offer jobs and livelihoods to thousands of impoverished farmers and generate millions in new revenue. Such positive action must accompany the negative in any counterterrorism strategy if crucial “hearts and minds” are to be swayed. However, mangos aside, the provision of this kind of assistance is woefully anemic. The Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill passed in October 2009 pledged to triple economic assistance to $7.5 billion over five years, but a 2010 Pew Poll found that only 55% of Pakistanis were even aware that their government receives funding from the United States and, of these, only 27% believed a significant portion of that funding to be directed towards development.

In short, American policy is, as Nancy Birdsall of the Center for Global Development (CGD) notes, “way off course in Pakistan.” A fixation on security has led us to “neglect low-cost, low-risk investments in jobs, growth, and the long haul of democracy building.” In a political system crippled by corruption, and an economy struggling to employ its rapidly growing population, such neglect must not continue. Fortunately, the U.S. development mission in Pakistan is not beyond repair, but cash and cannons will be of little further use. Instead, a June 2011 report by the CGD suggests, what is needed is a reorganization and redirection of aid efforts. The combination of USAID programs in Pakistan under a single director, as well as the posting of development goals and data on the progress of those programs in one accessible location, would help streamline the messy distribution of AID funds. While, a temporary suspension of trade tariffs, duties, and quotas on exports to the U.S. would help rebuild trust between the two countries, and breathe life into Pakistan’s underutilized manufacturing capacity.

Similarly, addressing the dismal state of Pakistan’s education system would go far in proving a real commitment to the welfare of the Pakistani people. Pakistan, the sixth largest country in the world (by population), currently places 143rd in country league tables on education expenditures (a measly 2.6% of GDP). No wonder, then, that only 47% of Pakistani boys, and a shocking 22% of girls, complete even primary level schooling. Less than 19% move on to upper secondary school. Education is the foundation of any modern economy and sweeping reform of Pakistan’s bloated military budget is needed to combat its learning crisis. Still, American agencies can help push such reforms at the policy level, while private charitable organizations have also proven quite effective at the grassroots level. Greg Mortenson, writer of the best-selling book “Three Cups of Tea”, and previously the most successful proponent of Pakistani education in the United States, has recently been discredited by an April 2011 “60 minutes” exposé, which revealed his widespread misallocation of charitable donations. But the dream of an educated Pakistan should not be thrown out with his dirty linen. The Marshall Direct Fund, a small charitable outfit based in Carbondale Colorado, presents one attractive alternative. Eschewing Mortenson’s expensive model of constructing whole schools from scratch in rural areas, the Fund leases cheap space and focuses on teaching in order to provide alternatives for Pakistani youth in the urban areas where a majority of terrorist recruitment takes place. The charity also runs a program called “Global Kids Connect”, which seeks to connect young American school children with their Pakistani counterparts and humanize, for both sides, a cultural ‘other’ that is so often defined by inflammatory and sensationalist rhetoric. Though small, MDF has put its limited budget to excellent use, and the example set by its generosity ripples far beyond those students directly affected.

Such individual generosity, combined with a dedicated effort at the policy level, can help reverse the worrying trends developing in US-Pakistani relations. Economic uncertainty and ramshackle progress on security have made Pakistan-bashing an easy past-time in Washington, and efforts to cut U.S. aid are well underway. Perhaps, they should be; however, the antics of Pakistani leadership (especially within the ISI) should not lead Washington to abandon the country. The temptation to view Pakistan solely through the prism of security is strong but essentially misguided. Relations must be approached holistically if American goals in the region are ever to be fully realized. Military solutions are vital in the fight against violent extremism in the region, but that dead horse has been thoroughly beaten. Mangoes and education could present a faster path to stability than bullets alone.

To view the article on the Huffington Post please click here.

To print or download a PDF version of the article please click Mangoes and Schools: Rethinking U.S. Aid to Pakistan.

AfPak Daily Brief

Daily brief: Pakistani naval officers to face court martial
By Andrew Lebovich, August 4, 2011

A day in court

Pakistan’s military will reportedly court martial three naval officers in connection with the failure to prevent an attack carried out by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the country’s Mehran naval base in May, which resulted in the destruction of key surveillance aircraft and the deaths of 10 security personnel (ET, Reuters). The officers include the base’s former commander Commodore Raja Tahir, as well as two subordinates.
Violence continues to roil Karachi, as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and officials from the Awami National Party (ANP) called for Pakistan’s army to be deployed to tamp down the fighting (DT, ET, ET, Dawn, DT). Hundreds of paramilitary Rangers have spread throughout Karachi, and the government in Sindh province Wednesday authorized Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari to head negotiations with the city’s political parties (Tel, DT, ET). As part of the talks, Dawn reports that Zardari is expected to ask the MQM to rejoin Pakistan’s governing coalition (Dawn).

China toned down its criticism of Pakistan in the wake of violence in the country’s western Xinjiang province last weekend, lauding the latter’s counterterrorism efforts in a public statement released Wednesday (ET). Meanwhile, Dawn reports on the looming September discussion at the United Nations on American efforts to halt the production of fissile nuclear materials, and NBC’s Robert Windrem discusses the possibility that American forces may attempt to “snatch” Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in the event of crisis in the country (Dawn, MSNBC). And U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter said in a visit to Baluchistan that the province is “very significant” for the United States, as unidentified gunmen destroyed three NATO fuel trucks near the Baluch town of Dasht (Dawn, Dawn).

Four stories close out today’s Pakistan news: The Punjab home office has reportedly concluded in an intelligence report that certain religious schools in the province are promoting radicalization, and have increased their activities in the past six weeks (ET). Fighting between the army and militants continues in Kurram agency (ET). A new report from Oxfam International has concluded that 36 percent of Pakistanis are undernourished, while two-thirds of the population spends more than half of their income on food (ET, Dawn). And 16 Pakistanis held prisoner by human traffickers in Afghanistan have been repatriated (Dawn).

Slow progress?

The Times reports that a statement released recently by the Taliban calling on the United States and foreign forces to, “seek a face-saving exit from Afghanistan in understanding with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” could indicate a shift from previous Taliban demands for a withdrawal from Afghanistan before peace negotiations could take place (NYT). Observers note that any negotiations or peace process with the Taliban are nascent, and Taliban violence continues unabated. However, former Afghan prime minister Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, who served between 1995 and 1996, told The News that Taliban officials indicated to him that the group would negotiate after a public commitment from the United States to withdraw (The News). And Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, the body tasked with promoting reconciliation with the Taliban, has appointed Algerian Abdullah Anas, the son-in-law of the legendary slain anti-Soviet militant organizer Abdullah Azzam, to represent the council officially in Europe (Pajhwok).

A Taliban car bomb on Thursday killed Payenda Khan, a junior official in Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) in the northern province of Kunduz (BBC, AFP). In eastern Afghanistan, a man wearing an Afghan National Police uniform shot and killed a NATO soldier Thursday (Reuters, AP). And Bloomberg notes the rising recruitment of women into Afghanistan’s security forces, a role for women in Afghan society that may be at risk following a potential deal with the Taliban (Bloomberg). Bonus read: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, “Fighting a 50 percent solution in Afghanistan” (FP).

The cat’s meow

The Post brings to light the months-long debate at the U.S. embassy in Kabul over the fate of the 25 to 30 cats that populate the embassy grounds (Post). Some staffers have been fighting a push to exterminate the cats, which reportedly have scratched or bitten at least one embassy employee.
Sign up here to receive the Daily Brief in your inbox. Follow the AfPak Channel on Twitter and Facebook.
ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images

Marshall Direct Fund reception at the home of Marcy and Leo Edelstein

Annual Fundraiser Was A Resounding Success!

We raised over $100K; the most we have generated in a single event. Many thanks to all who supported us whether it is by attending, providing the coveted wares for the silent auction or volunteering. Thank you especially to the event chairs: Marcy and Leo Edelstein, Soledad and Bob Hurst, and Mary and Patrick Scanlan. We offer the ultimate gratitude to the host committee and all of the sponsors and underwriters who helped make this event possible.

“This benchmark is so inspirational to me, my staff and the board,” exclaimed executive director Silbi Stainton. “The faith and generosity of our donors shows us all that the formula is working and we can and must persevere”.

The reception took place in Aspen, CO, at the beautiful home of Marcy and Leo Edelstein. The vivid photography of Shari Applebaum who accompanied MDF staff to Pakistan last October, showcased students whose lives are enriched by the educational programs provided by the Marshall Direct Fund.

Featuring Shehrbano Taseer

Highlights from the evening include a very moving speech by Shehrbano Taseer. Shehrbano, the daughter of the late Salmaan Taseer (governor of Punjab who was recently gunned down by one of his own bodyguards), has followed in her fathers’ footsteps by continuing his pledge to pursue a humanistic society with equal protection for all under the law.

Shehrbano is a reputed reporter and human rights activist. During the event she shared the story of her father’s commitment to a peaceful and progressive Pakistan, a commitment that resulted in his assassination. Shehrbano continues to speak out for religious tolerance and freedom. You can read more of her story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/opinion/09taseer.html

THE GALLERIE boutique Tunics Début

The event marked the debut of the beautiful products produced at the women’s vocational centers that the Marshall Direct Fund supports and the creative designer and fashion-forward owner of the Aspen, Colorado boutique THE GALLERIE, Sarah Lippincott.

Marshall Direct Fund is advancing the education and work skills of women and children in Pakistan. By uniting Sarah’s successful business model, fashionista sensibility and philanthropy with the needs of Marshall Direct Fund; entrepreneurial women in Pakistan are creating merchandise that will be soon featured in THE GALLERIE.

Marshall Direct Fund is able to offer cost-efficient product that puts distinctive merchandise in the hands of clientele looking for that one-of-a-kind piece.

The Gallerie is instrumental providing input on the designs and is taking orders and selling the tunics at The Gallerie in Aspen. For more on how you can purchase a distinctive tunice please visit www.gallerieaspen.com/

You can check out the Get Involved page of our website for information on everyday ways to contribute to programs specifically designed to increase economic opportunity for the poor, especially girls and women, in Pakistan http://www.marshalldirectfund.org/get-involved/

Make your Valentine a girl you don’t know!

You were probably planning on your Valentine being your spouse, children, significant other, best friend, mother and/or someone you know, right? This year, surprise everyone and choose a girl you don’t know to be your Valentine!

Nageena: She lives in an impoverished community in Pakistan and is vulnerable to human trafficking and her future children are susceptible to recruitment into extremist activities. For $25, you could buy chocolate, or provide her with a uniform and shoes at a MDF school where she can learn in a safe place!

Saima: She lives in Kashmir. She is a mother of three. She wants to start her own business. For $50, you could send flowers, or help her obtain raw materials through the vocational center where she will be taught how to make embellished clothing products.

Fatima: She is 9 and also lives in a poor area of Pakistan. Because her family needs additional income it is difficult for her parents to have her in school instead. For $100, you could buy jewelry, or make sure she can attend another year of school, and obtain daily nutritious lunches.

These girls don’t want candy, flowers or jewelry. They want an education, resources and a chance to prove themselves. We believe in them. How about you?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

With lots of love,
Silbi Stainton and the Marshall Direct Fund Team

p.s. To prevent any relationship problems that may stem from choosing another Valentine, consider making your donation in honor of your original Valentine, we will email a Marshall Direct Fund Valentine’s tribute card.