Afghanistan & Central Asian Association
Charity number: 1096908
Website: www.acaa.org.uk
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Description:
The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association was founded in 2001 by Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, who came to the UK as a refugee with his wife and young children. After experiencing the difficulties of integrating into life in Britain, Dr Nasimi was motivated to set up the ACAA to help others to succeed in their new country.
Integration and Wellbeing in the UK:
The ACAA's largest integration project is the ESOL for Integration classes, which combine English language teaching with teaching about British values and customs. There is also the Women's Tea Corner which meets twice weekly, a weekly Men's Group to help men gain employment skills, obtain support applying for universal credit and meet new people. ACAA also runs a supplementary school where children can receive educational support and learn Farsi and a hugely popular girls football club aimed at girls from a muslim background who would not otherwise play sport outside of school. We also host frequent cultural-social events to help the Afghan community celebrate their culture and combat isolation.
Afghanistan:
The ACAA's other main area of work is the improvement of life in Afghanistan, where people have endured decades of war and where now most live in serious poverty due to the collapse of the country's economy after the Taliban took back control in 2021. In past years, the ACAA has run projects in Afghanistan to promote women's empowerment, to provide humanitarian support to internally displaced peoples and marginalised communities in Northern Afghanistan, and to provide free legal advice and representation to marginalised people in the criminal justice system.
In light of the political situation in Afghanistan, ACAA's mission in Afghanistan is now principally to provide humanitarian support to the poorest people in Afghanistan, particularly in Parwan province, Northern Afghanistan. In addition, we are focused on hosting roundtable events and lectures on the situation in Afghanistan in order to bring together academics, politicians and communities on the subject and raise awareness of the human rights situation there.