Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy

What Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy does

Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy, operating as Afghan Pearl, is a Canadian-registered nonprofit charitable organization headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario that funds and delivers healthcare, clean water, and emergency relief programs to vulnerable populations in Afghanistan. Its core service portfolio comprises six programs: Cataract Care, Cleft Lip & Palate Care, Contracture Deformity Care, and Club Foot Care (all delivered through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saadat Hospital in Afghanistan, led by Dr. Mirwais Noorzad), plus the Water Wells Project (active since May 2015, reaching 300 villages) and an Emergency Relief Program distributing food packages to families affected by COVID-19, drought, and conflict. The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its infrastructure consists of a Wix-based website (afghanpearl.org), PayPal for donation processing, Facebook for organic reach, an email newsletter, and WhatsApp for direct supporter communication, with reCAPTCHA protecting contact forms.

The revenue model is purely donation-driven, with no commercial customers. Donors select from predefined sponsorship tiers priced in Canadian dollars: C$200 per cataract surgery, C$500 per cleft lip/palate procedure, C$1,500 per water well, and C$100 per family emergency food package (sufficient for a family of seven for one month). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the website, social media presence, and word-of-mouth, targeting a global base of individual donors. Afghan Pearl is independently operated, receives no venture capital or private equity funding, and is guided by Islamic values and an explicit trust-based donor stewardship ethos. Operating geography is concentrated in Afghanistan (single-country delivery), while fundraising reach is global. The organization is not publicly traded and does not disclose audited financials.

Name

Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy

Legal name

Afghan Pearl

Website

https://afghanpearl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy (Afghan Pearl) is a Canadian nonprofit that funds and delivers cataract, cleft lip/palate, contracture, and club foot surgeries through Saadat Hospital in Afghanistan, alongside water well construction and emergency food relief programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Humanitarian Healthcare

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian Coordination, Information Management & Needs Assessment (BPAGAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Emergency Food Assistance & Nutrition Response (BPADADAE)

Keywords

• Humanitarian healthcare services
• Charitable medical programs
• Clean water infrastructure
• Emergency food relief
• Nonprofit fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Sponsorship: The organization generates revenue through charitable donations where individuals and organizations sponsor specific healthcare procedures, water wells, or emergency relief packages. Donors select from predefined sponsorship tiers (C$100-$1,500) and funds are directed to specific programs including cataract care, cleft lip/palate surgeries, water well construction, and emergency food distribution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy, operating as Afghan Pearl, is a Canadian-registered nonprofit that funds and delivers healthcare and humanitarian aid to underserved populations in Afghanistan. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Saadat Hospital, the organization performs cataract surgeries, cleft lip and palate repairs, contracture deformity care, and club foot correction; it also runs a Water Wells Project that has reached 300 villages since May 2015 and an Emergency Relief Program that distributes monthly food packages to families affected by COVID-19, drought, and conflict.

Product overview

Afghan Pearl is a nonprofit charitable organization offering a portfolio of humanitarian programs focused on healthcare and community development in Afghanistan. The organization operates primarily through Saadat Hospital, which serves as the medical hub for its surgical programs. The core healthcare offerings include four specialized treatment programs: the Cataract Care Program (restoring vision), Cleft Lip & Palate Care Program (addressing birth defects), Contracture Deformity Care Program (treating mobility-limiting conditions), and Club Foot Care Program (correcting congenital foot deformities). Beyond healthcare, the organization runs the Water Wells Project (bringing clean water to 300 villages since 2015) and an Emergency Relief Program (providing food packages to families affected by crisis). All programs are funded through donations processed via PayPal, with various sponsorship and donation tiers available for supporters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cataract Care Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 300 villages provided with clean water access
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• WaterAid: International NGO focused on clean water access, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries. Directly comparable to Afghan Pearl's Water Wells Project mission of delivering safe drinking water to underserved communities.
• Himalayan Cataract Project: Provides high-volume cataract surgeries in underserved regions of Asia and Africa. Directly comparable to Afghan Pearl's Cataract Care Program in clinical focus and target population.
• charity: water: Nonprofit funding clean water projects in developing countries using a project-based sponsorship model. Comparable to Afghan Pearl's Water Wells Project in unit-priced water-well sponsorship and donor transparency approach.
• EMERGENCY: Italian nonprofit that builds and operates hospitals in conflict and low-income countries, including Afghanistan. Comparable in operating owned medical facilities in Afghanistan and providing free care to low-income patients.
• Islamic Relief Worldwide: Faith-based humanitarian NGO delivering healthcare, water, and emergency relief in Muslim-majority and conflict-affected countries. Comparable in values-driven approach, multi-program portfolio, and Afghanistan presence.
• Sightsavers: International NGO preventing blindness and supporting eye health in low-income countries. Comparable to Afghan Pearl's Cataract Care Program in addressing preventable blindness in underserved populations.
• Smile Train: Focused exclusively on cleft lip and palate surgeries in low-income countries. Closely comparable to Afghan Pearl's Cleft Lip & Palate Care Program in mission, surgical specialization, and developing-country focus.
• International Medical Corps: Humanitarian NGO delivering emergency medical services and healthcare training in conflict-affected and low-income countries. Comparable multi-program healthcare and emergency relief delivery model.
• Cure International: A nonprofit that operates specialty hospitals in developing countries providing cleft lip/palate, orthopedic, and other reconstructive surgeries. Directly comparable to Afghan Pearl's surgical portfolio through Saadat Hospital and similar unit-based sponsorship model.

Broad incumbents

• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders): Large global humanitarian medical organization operating in crisis zones including Afghanistan. Overlaps with Afghan Pearl's mission of providing medical care in underserved and conflict-affected settings, though at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Projects for Educational Advancement Relief and Literacy