Practical help in times of great need
Our mission is to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan and the ACT.
The ZamZam Foundation was originally founded to protect and provide for orphans and widows in the Badakhshan province and surrounding regions.
Following the seismic changes in August 2021, ZamZam delivered critical support to the hungry and homeless still living in Afghanistan by fundraising, organising, and distributing urgently needed food and clothing packs, as well as medical and educational support to families in distress. Since 2023, ZamZam has focused primarily on providing support for local-led education programs in Afghanistan and running small community programs with the Afghanistan diaspora in the ACT.
Composed of people from different ethnicities, religions, tribes, and races, ZamZam is passionate about looking beyond our differences. We believe that a better society is a united one: an Afghanistan that protects the vulnerable, reduces inequality and discrimination, and advances a widespread ethic of compassion and benevolence.
ZamZam’s priorities
Priority 1: Providing support for education programs in Afghanistan
Through fundraising efforts, ZamZam supports transformational, locally-led education programs in Afghanistan.
These programs leverage the skills and expertise of local people to ensure they are relevant on the ground and improve the livelhoods of Afghanistan women and girls.
Priority 2: Welcoming Afghanistan people to the ACT
Working alongside the community, ZamZam delivers targeted resources and programs, so that newly arrived Afghanistan refugees feel safe, included, welcome, and respected. This includes supporting women to learn to drive and to improve their English, supporting families to learn to swim, and developing networks of peer to peer support.
ZamZam also aims to facilitate conversation groups between new arrivals from Afghanistan, the Afghanistan diaspora, and the broader Canberra community.
Priority 3: Bridging the cultural divide
ZamZam works closely with other organisations in the ACT to connect the Afghanistan community with various services, and helps to bridge the cultural divide to foster more collaborative and trusting relationships
Priority 4: Advocacy
ZamZam advocates for the rights of Afghanistan women and girls to political representatives and global organisations, to ensure they remain of the utmost importance in both the local community and on the global stage. ZamZam engages with and amplifies the voices of Afghanistan women and girls to ensure that they are never forgotten.
Despite ongoing hardship and complications, ZamZam continues to give practical aid and support to vulnerable women and girls in Afghanistan.
