Norgrove Foundation to fund Afghan abuse treatment

THE cost of emergency medical treatment for victims of domestic abuse in Afghanistan is to be met by the Linda Norgrove Foundation as part of their latest round of funding.

The Foundation, established by John and Lorna Norgrove in memory of their daughter Linda, from Uig in the Western Isles, who worked as an aid worker in Afghanistan.

The emergency medical assistance will be provided through an organisation called Women for Afghan Women who help women and girls who have suffered serious injuries as a result of domestic violence or because their families refuse to care for them when they are seriously ill.

The Foundation is also paying the scholarships for six young women to study law at a higher education college in Kabul through their Women’s Empowerment Centre (WEC).

Lorna Norgrove said: “The stories of the women who suffer such terrible abuse at the hands of their husbands and families can be harrowing to read and we’re just grateful to have the chance to help them.

“But we are also determined to look to the future for women in Afghanistan and educating women is an important part of that. Nothing will change for women in Afghanistan in the long term if women remain isolated and uneducated. It is particularly important that more women study the law so they can, in the future, help others who face such abuse.”

Estimates suggest that only 16% of the female population of Afghanistan is educated and less than a quarter of students at universities are women.

The funding for the Gawharshad Institute scholarships will pay for the first year of a law course for six young women who have academic potential but are without the means to pursue further education.

The Foundation has made a commitment to funding the young women throughout their four year course.

Building on the success of previous funding, the Foundation has agreed to pay for school lunches for another year for The Afghan Educational Children’s Circus – a project they visited on their trip to Afghanistan.

This is a groundbreaking project which uses entertainment to educate children on issues such as land mine awareness and drug misuse.

Lorna added: “We were hugely impressed by what was being achieved by the Afghan Educational Children’s Circus when we went to visit.

“Learning circus skills is great fun for the children in an environment where that can be in short supply, but it also has a serious purpose.”

Grants have also been given for a further year’s funding of the Operation Mercy community health programme in the remote Wakhan corridor (£15,000), an orphanage in Jalalabad (£8,522) and lessons, including judo classes for underprivileged children in Kabul (£3,947).

The Foundation, established in 2010 by the parents of Linda Norgrove, the Western Isles aid worker who died after being kidnapped, raises money for projects which help women and children in Afghanistan.