Social commitment
In July 1980, I finally arrive in Frankfurt, after an adventurous escape from Afghanistan via Pakistan and London. In every respect, a new chapter of my life begins to open to me. Since I arrived in the Rhein Main area I have been committed in many ways - socially and politically. Why? I received support from many people without whose help I could not have got ahead in Germany. In Frankfurt a climate of tolerance and compassion enabled me to establish a successful enterprise.
What does social commitment mean to me?
I am always happy when I succeed to hand on something of what I have received myself. It makes me especially proud that in my business "AHP Qani" I can reconcile social commitment and economic success. In my daily working with people I realize my device "value creation by appreciation".
I try to involve people so that they can expand and deliver their input to the community in which they live.
Practically, this means:
Whenever possible I employ older workers because, in spite of their invaluable professional and experience, they are almost without a chance in the job market.
In the same way I take care of young people, especially those that are socially disadvantaged. I train them myself and support the trainees whenever it is possible. Therefore, I was very happy to be asked to hold a speech on the day the best trainees were awarded (April 22, 2009, in the IHK Frankfurt). Here is the complete text of my speech.
Since 2004 I have cooperated with the qualifying project beramí – Beruf, Bildung, Beratung (profession, education, consulting). Beramí developed special German language courses for the international nursing staff of my business. My foreign employees are offered the possibility to attend these courses. In doing so, I am aiming at supporting their integration into Germany.
Promoting women is an issue especially close to my heart. I developed a detailed concept especially to qualify my female employees.
Furthermore, I always keep in mind the difficult situation of women and girls in my home country Afghanistan. In order to support them I founded the association ZAN. Further down the page, you can read more on this topic.
Since 2005 I also support the fund-raising drive "Not gemeinsam lindern" – a charity campaign carried out by the "Alten- und Weihnachtshilfe Frankfurter Rundschau" which enjoys a long tradition.
My social commitment is very important to me. It is also appreciated by other official sides: Germany said "thank you" for my work! In 2009 I received the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
But how did it all begin? Let me tell you briefly. Here we go:
I experienced myself how it is to have to escape from your home country, to arrive in a completely foreign country and to have to begin from scratch. This is why I am engaged in neighbourhood help in the St. Sebastian parish and in housing for asylum seekers in Schwalbach as well as helping asylum seekers at Frankfurt airport, cooperating with "Pro Asyl", from 1982-1992.
My home country Afghanistan does not let go of me. In 1996 I was one of the founding members of RAH, association for the promotion of the cultural values of Afghanistan.
Afghan women have a special place in my heart also because of my own story. In 2000 I cooperated with the Cologne based NGO medica mondiale, working for a women's project in Kabul.
In 2001 I founded ZAN (the Farsi/Dari word for woman), association for the promotion of the rights of Afghan women. Until today, I am the chairperson of this association. In order to promote and to support Afghan women I initiated a center for education and consulting in Kabul.
ZAN designed a photo exhibition on the topic "Life of Women in Afghanistan" which made a tour around Germany in 2002-2003.
The sales revenues of my autobiography, published in 2010, are for the benefit of the students of Jumhoriat Lycee in Kabul. This is the school I attended myself. It is a special school since it is the only professional school where women are taught economics, finance, statistics, accounting, foreign languages and law according to German standards.
It is not only the women in Afghanistan who touch my heart. Since 2008 I have contributed to the Intercultural Women Network Hessen which was eventually founded two years later.
I was one of the founding members of IKU.NET, network of intercultural business women.
There are other intercultural projects in which I am especially interested. Together with the Frankfurter Verband I am a member of the board of advisors of the Victor-Gollancz-Haus. This is an intercultural nursing home in Frankfurt-Höchst inhabited, among others, by muslim migrants.
Also, I am a member of the working group "migration and health" of the Frankfurt AMKA (department of multicultural affairs).
Apart from this, I engage in opening rooms in hospitals where foreign patients can receive their numerous visitors as well as separate rooms to wash Muslim deceased according to ritual customs.
Now, how about politics?
To me, social commitment cannot be separated from political commitment:
Since 2002 I have been member of the board of the "Frankfurter Kulturforum der Sozialdemokratie" (Frankfurt cultural forum of social democracy"), and since 2005 I have been member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party).
Since 2006 I have actively worked in the board of ASF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialdemokratischer Frauen - working group of social democratic women), district Hessen Süd (South Hessia). As a member of the board I also participated in the extraordinary federal conference of the ASF on the topic "Frauen verdienen mehr" ("women deserve more / deserve to earn more" - the German word "verdienen" has both meanings).
In 2007 I was elected delegate of the SPD local branch Westend in Frankfurt.