Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA) was established in 1999 to encourage the active participation of women in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. HAWCA is dedicated to working for the social well-being of all peoples, with a particular focus on women and children who live in Afghanistan or in refugee communities in Pakistan.

HAWCA focuses on numerous activities to achieve its vision, such as: providing free literacy education for women; providing children of war-affected areas with education on peace and tolerance; lobbying for women’s rights and human rights through the legal framework of the country and international conventions on women’s rights; and providing emergency assistance for victims affected by natural or man-made disasters.

One of the organisation’s projects in the field of peacebuilding is “Peace Building for the New Generation”. This project is aiming to promote peacebuilding and conflict resolution among the children of the communities in villages of Jabil Saraj district of Parwan province. The project has directly reached 200 girls and boys, and around another 7,000 people indirectly. They teach children about methods of conflict resolution and promoting peace within their families and wider communities. This project has been ongoing for the last four years and has previously been implemented in Kabul, Nooristan and Samangan provinces.