The Mother of Refugee Education Sakena Yacoobi

Dedicated her entire lief for Afghan refugee education, and proposed a fundamental solution to refugee resettlement Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, an Afghan national who had studied in the United States, returned home and devoted her life to helping refugees recover their dignity that had been lost in the wars, and helping them reconstruct their nation. Through her work, she has demonstrated that education provides a fundamental solution for not just Afghan refugees, but for refugees all over the world. The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee awards those who have peacefully led humanity towards a common destiny, and selected Italian surgeon Dr. Gino Strada and Afghan educator Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, as co-recipients of the 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony, for their work to solve the refugee crisis. Dr. Sakena Yacoobi established the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) in 1995, with the belief that only education could offer a brighter future for refugees, and has been lauded for providing education and vocational training to 14 million people for 22 years.