Barakat's mission is to strengthen the fundamental human rights to education in South and Central Asia by providing exemplary basic education, increasing access to higher education and advancing literacy, particularly for women and children. We opened our first school in 1994 and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2000. Since its small beginnings with one school, Barakat has grown to serve more than 3,000 students annually through seven schools and more than 30 literacy courses across three countries. Our subsidiary organizations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are run by local leaders who have a passion for education and deep connections to the communities they serve. Barakat envisons a world in which all the people of South and Central Asia fully realize their human rights to education.