Afghanistan And Central Asian Association Newsroom

About Us

AFGHANISTAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN ASSOCIATION (ACAA):
The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) is an award-winning British charity based in London and established in 2001 with a long history of delivering advice, support and integration support for refugees and asylum seekers across the UK. ACAA was founded by Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, who arrived as a refugee in the back of a refrigerated container with his young family in 1999. The charity has steadily grown and is now the largest Afghan diaspora-led charity in the UK, with 4 offices across the UK - Hounslow, Harrow, Birmingham and Liverpool.

ACAA is a well-established community-based charity delivering practical, educational and emotional support to refugees and racially minoritised people from around the world including those from Afghanistan, Syria and the Ukraine. Our extensive experience of working directly with newly arrived refugees in crisis and successful model for refugee integration work means we understand the needs of refugees and new migrants and how to respond to them to ensure the best outcomes for the immediate and long term.

Our history and lived experience are relevant - Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi founded the Afghanistan & Central Asian Association (ACAA) after arriving in the UK in the back of a lorry with his young family fleeing the Taliban advance of the late 1990s. His motivation was, and still is, to support other new arrivals facing the same situation – poor English, not understanding British culture and institutions, coping with his and his family’s experience of displacement and trauma, and wanting to integrate into a new life in the UK

Now, 25 years later, ACAA is proud to have supported over 150,000 refugees and now provides ESOL for Integration, information and advice, counselling, IT and work skills learning, supplementary schooling for children, cultural and sports activities and women’s groups – all leading to better integration, improved educational attainment and employability, and improved health and well-being. Whilst our long-term base has been in Hounslow, west London, we also offer our services in other major cities around the UK in partnership with local charities and public authorities. ACAA advises the UK Government and the London Mayor’s office.

ACAA has a solid reputation for high quality, culturally sensitive services based on utilising the lived experience of its’ Director, Trustees, staff and volunteers. Amongst the awards we have received are the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services 2018, Refugee Support Service of the Year 2019 for London and The Community Award 2019, from the London Asian Business Awards. Our Founder Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi has received the British Citizens’ Award, Third Sector Awards and the MBE. In July 2024, Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi was awarded the Honorary Doctorate Degree by Royal Holloway, University of London.

Our core services in the UK include:
Education, training and development opportunities for adults and children – planned programmes such as ESOL for Integration, Supplementary Schools, British citizenship test preparation, business and employment advice and support, and also pastoral and individualised support such as assistance with financial issues, benefits issues, CV and Cover letter writing workshops, practice Job Interviews, support with digital skills, 1:1 pastoral support, skills/training, in particular ESOL skills for work, Volunteering and Work Placements, Job Brokerage.
Business accelerator hub – job fairs, business networking events, conferences, talks and exhibitions
Women’s outreach and women and girls-only projects – culturally sensitive and appropriate support for women and girls’ empowerment, development, advice and support to increase knowledge of UK systems and support victims of domestic abuse.
Educational programmes and courses for children, catch-up sessions for young people, family mentoring support programmes, coding classes, Maths and Science classes, language classes, debate clubs, animation classes, creative education for young people
Legal and advice clinics to Advice Quality Standard and OISC accreditation, using volunteers and pro bono solicitors, focusing mainly on immigration, housing, business and employment issues.
Mental Health workshops and one-to-one counselling sessions with translation
Practical assistance with resources, information and advice for new arrivals in the UK under Government resettlement schemes (particularly given our proximity to Heathrow Airport)
Social and cultural activities and events promoting community cohesion, festivals, exhibitions, film screenings and fashion shows
Volunteering, mentoring and internships for young people
Arts, Media, Culture and Fitness programmes (Football, Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Dance) for disadvantaged and socially excluded women and girls
Food Bank for local residents, in partnership with Pret, Greggs, Fairshare, Tesco and other stores
Free Hot meals through our Community Kitchen and Cookery Masterclasses
Community Library & Community Café for the Public
Function Hall/Conference Centre
ACAA is secure financially with an annual turnover now of just over £1m. Over 25 years, it has steadily grown and is now the largest Afghan diaspora-led charity in the UK, with four offices across the UK - Hounslow, Harrow, Birmingham and Liverpool. We are funded by a range of national and local, large and small statutory and charitable funders including the National Lottery Community Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Henry Smith Charity, Arts Council, Tudor Trust, City Bridge Trust, Comic Relief, Heathrow Communities Trust, MOJ/HMPPS, Electoral Commission, Home Office & Local Councils.


PAST REFLECTIONS:
We would like to offer some reflections on the ongoing and deeply-rooted challenge that has plagued the Afghan people for more than four decades. Since 1979, the people of Afghanistan have endured immense hardship and devastation among 196 nations worldwide.
In 1979, Afghanistan was invaded by 200,000 Russian forces, armed with heavy weaponry and without Security Council resolution. The resistance movement in the north of Afghanistan eventually led to their withdrawal a decade later in 1989.
During this war, Afghanistan lost three million lives, and millions more were widowed, orphaned, displaced, or left disabled.
In 2001, the largest NATO intervention in its history was launched to remove the Taliban regime. However, in 2021, NATO withdrew from Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to regain control and return to power.
From August 2021 to date, millions of girls in Afghanistan CANNOT go to school.
40 million are facing severe human rights abuses and 15 million diaspora from Afghanistan are largely voiceless, many unable to navigate their challenges in English language.

Amid these struggles, the Afghanistan & Central Asian Association (ACAA) continues its mission. Despite being the only main charity dedicated to supporting the Afghan diaspora, we operate largely without substantial government backing, relying on volunteers to meet overwhelming needs. ACAA was the only charity in the UK without the support of the UK government relying on volunteers to support and give advice/reassurance to long queues of British Afghans every day from 5am in the morning at our Centre in Feltham in August 2021 after the Fall of Kabul until the Ukraine crisis started in February 2022. After the queues of people, we became a focal point for the British and International Press. We then became a donation drop-off centre and distributed 10 trucks worth of donations to the 15,000 newly-evacuated Afghan refugees placed in emergency bridging hotels nationwide. Our constitution emphasises advancing education for Afghan refugees within the UK, but as a small charity we support thousands of Afghans and non-Afghans across the UK, EU, Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey since our inception in 1999, demonstrating excellent value for money and substantially exceeding expectations.

MEDIA COVERAGE OF ACAA AFTER THE FALL OF AFGHANISTAN IN AUGUST 2021
BBC London News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emgyeEiOMjk
BBC News at 6pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4sxt0_YFNo
BBC Breakfast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgJwY9OWEE&t=63s
BBC News at 2pm - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM47o0S6KEg
BBC News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAO_8vFOlIM&t=68s
Sky News - News Hour at Six with Mark Austin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1LWaHMwVTY
Al Jazeera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIovOEHAj0c
GB News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBix2gNJjck
Iran International - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQlUKvE-jDU

RECENT MILESTONES & SUCCESSES:
Last December marked one year since Dr. Nasimi's meeting with HRH King Charles, where he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to refugees, an event that highlighted and recognised ACAA’s work.
In July 2024, Dr. Nasimi was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Law and Social Science from Royal Holloway University, in recognition of his commitment to supporting refugees and the wider community in the UK for the past 25 years.
In August 2024, ACAA has been awarded 28-month funding from the MOJ and HMPS to support the rehabilitation and re-integration of People on Probation from an Ethnic Minority Background in 4 West London Boroughs
In December 2024, ACAA has been awarded 3 year funding from Sandwell Borough Council to support the resettlement of newly-arrived refugees in Sandwell.
In November 2024, ACAA was awarded funding from the Home Office to support people to make the transition towards E-visas.
In October 2024, ACAA was awarded 4 month funding from the Electoral Commission to deliver a Partner-led action research project - Democratic Engagement about voter engagement across five West London boroughs: Hounslow, Ealing, Brent, Hillingdon, and Harrow.
If you search the name of our charity - Afghanistan and Central Asian Association on LinkedIn, you will find thousands of pages/profiles of ACAA's former staff and volunteers whom we have supported over the years and you can see the progression they have made after working with us, many of whom are not from an Afghan background and are from all over the world.

Please find attached our latest UK annual report, ACAA-Afghanistan Profile, our recent case for support to support Syrian Asylum Seekers in the UK as well Draft of Dr. Nasimi's new book titled 'A Dance between Two Worlds: Turning Escape into Activism and Vision for Change in Afghanistan'.

For biographies of individual members of the Nasimi family, please see Wikipedia/Linkedin links below:
Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi - Founder of the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nooralhaq_Nasimi
Ms. Shabnam Nasimi, Founder of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan (CFA), Founder of SADAA and Co-Founder of Friends of Afghan Women's Network (FAWN) along with Sarah Sands, British Journalist and Author - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabnam_Nasimi, https://www.friendsofafghanwomennetwork.co.uk,
Mrs. Rabia Nasimi - Founder of ESM Research, UK Covid-19 Inquiry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabia_Nasimi,
Mr. Darius Nasimi - First British Afghan Conservative Councillor Candidate, Founder of UK-Uzbekistan Business Council and Recipient of The Diana Award 2024 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darius-nasimi, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=darius+nasimi,
Ms. Sheekeba Nasimi - Civil Society Representative, UK Home Office and Conservative Candidate for Cranford in 2022 UK Local Elections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheekeba-nasimi
PAST EXPERTISE IN ORGANISING EVENTS

INDOOR EVENTS:
Throughout the year, we organise approx. 200 events, some at our own centre in Feltham and some in external venues such as universities, schools and the Houses of Parliament, including:
Cultural events and festivals (music, dance and food)
Conferences/Panel Discussions
Art Exhibition/stalls
Fundraising Dinner
Film Screenings
Qawwali/Ghazal Nights
OUTDOOR REFUGEE WEEK SUMMER FESTIVAL:
Every year, in June, we organise an outdoor music summer festival to celebrate Refugee Week. In June 2024, we organised a highly successful 2 day Summer Festival at Cranford Community College in Hounslow and attracted a crowd of 15,000 people (live singers, main stage, dance groups, hundreds of stalls and other entertainment). In previous years, we held the festival at Gunnersbury Park and Lampton Park. The first day was called Hounslow Mela and mainly targeted the South Asian Community and the second day for the Afghan and Central Asian community. Please see video links below for both days:
Hounslow Mela - 22nd June 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OChalbW2IME
Refugee Week Summer Festival - 23rd June 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTdBIonhO7E&pp=ygUmcmVmdWdlZSB3ZWVrIHN1bW1lciBmZXN0aXZhbCBhY2FhIDIwMjQ=

ACAA-AFGHANISTAN WORK:
As well as our UK service delivery, ACAA has been operating in Afghanistan since 2013. Our international programmes of community support in Afghanistan focus on delivering essential aid and support to vulnerable people there, but also to promote human rights and sustainable development. Our work centres on three main programme areas underpinned by emergency humanitarian relief. These programmes have been made possible through funding from UKAID, USAID, Canadian Embassy in Kabul, Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, Penny Appeal, Open Society Foundation and many other generous donors.

1) Citizens Advice Centres, Women’s Legal Advice Clinics and Volunteer Training, supporting and training volunteers to engage with women’s rights and issues in order to participate in political and civic decision-making.
Advice service established for women focusing on legal support to access justice and rights
Training and empowering a network of volunteer legal advisors and advocates.
Support and encouragement to volunteers and others who wish to go onto pursue a political or legal career or develop as campaigners
Training and empowering women for leadership in politics and civic governance –building for a network of women ready to engage at the civic public/political level
Providing free legal advice through our Citizens Advice Centres
2) Community-based Nutrition Intervention Scheme for Afghanistan (NISA) for the purpose of reducing malnutrition among children.
Mobilize communities and train health workers in line with the national community-based nutrition package (CBNP) standards.
Deliver maternal, infant, and young child feeding nutrition (MICYN) training to health facility staff so they can counsel caregivers.
Incentivize community health workers (CHWs) through the provision of financial/non-financial packages
Enable mothers to identify the nutritional status of their children through mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) practices.
3) Promoting Afghan women in tech. This program is designed to recruit, develop, and empower Afghan female talent in Afghanistan.
This program primarily focuses on providing remote employment and leadership development opportunities for talented Afghan women in Afghanistan. The women in tech program will enable these women to utilize their technical skills and abilities to work remotely with different private, NGOs and technology companies. The program is a full-year remote IT fellowship for Afghans. Each woman will receive a stipend and IT equipment.
4) Emergency Humanitarian Aid Relief
Improving access to clean water through digging wells
Providing Emergency Healthcare relief, for example through the distribution of PPE and Oxygen Machines during COVID
Winter Appeals - Food, water and basic supplies

Press releases