Tahera was a Farmer Field School Trainer and Coordinator for UMD’s Women in Agriculture Program on the Afghan Agriculture Extension Program. (AAEP) After her work with AAEP, Tahera created a soap making business and several co-ops including a poultry co-op with 92 women and a silkworm co-op with 120 women. She also created a food processing center which then employed over 50 women. Her life’s work has been devoted to Afghan women and girls by empowering them with literacy and education and by reintegrating girls who left school back into the system. Tahera is residing in Pakistan as a refugee.

Fatima was an Animal Science intern with the UMD’s Women in Agriculture program of the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Program. She learned to work with small farms in rural Afghanistan to improve animal management. After the project closed, Fatima graduated from Kabul University with a DVM. She then founded the Women’s Veterinary Association. Fatima was threatened by the Taliban because of her work as well as her support of women veterinarians. She is now resettled in the United States

Lailuma was a Farmer Field School Coordinator for the UMD’s Women in Agriculture Program of the AAEP in Kabul. There she coordinated a program that trained 80 destitute widows in organic agriculture. These widows worked a small parcel of land lent to them by the Ministry of Agriculture. After the project she established the only women-managed, organic co-op farm in Afghanistan. This provided income for the widows while they learned about organic farming methods. She also established a food processing cooperative including a farm stand to sell their produce and goods. The work forced her and her family into hiding. She has now resettled in the U.S.

Lina graduated with a master’s degree in agriculture from Michigan State University with the support of a scholarship from the GRAIN project in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan Lina worked with the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) as an extension officer. Lina is resettled in n the United States and works for Iner-City Fund International (ICF ).

Naveen was a Farmer Field School Coordinator in Nangahar for the UMD’s Women in Agriculture program of the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project Naveen has masters degree in economics and has worked for multiple U.S. government funded projects in managerial positions. After the project Naveen then worked for the Ministry of Finance as a Policy Advisor. She is resettled in the United States and works for the Environmental Protection Agency

Tamana was a young woman who worked as an office assistant for the University of Maryland’s Women in Agriculture Programon the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project (AAEP). At the time Tamana was freshly graduated from high school and had no job experience. After the project ended Tamana then went on to university to study dentistry. Tamana has resettled in the United States and volunteers with her local resettlement agency