All of our successes since our founding in 2003 stem from two sources: the commitment of donors like you and the vision of one woman: Joan Kayeum.

Joan had a lengthy history in Afghanistan before founding FEDAA in 2003. It is a country where she lived for almost a quarter of a century. Between 1948 and 1971, Joan taught in several girl schools while her husband, Dr. Abdul Kayeum, held various leadership positions in the Afghan government. Their relationship began in 1944 when she met him, a scholarship student from Afghanistan at the University of Chicago. Upon graduation and marriage, they went to Afghanistan to help Dr. Kayeum’s beloved country “catch up with the caravan of civilization” as he often expressed. They both dedicated themselves to the promotion of education which they considered the essential fuel for progress.

The history of FEDAA is, at its core, a story about the power each of us has to create the world we imagine.

Let’s share the memories together.