EMPOWERING THE GIRLS: The OTB Foundation has again teamed with Nove Caring Humans, this time to support the creation of a new female public orphanage in Kapisa, a region northeast of Kabul. OTB subsidiary Jil Sander also is joining the cause.
The partnership between the nonprofit organizations follows a similar one launched in 2022 that contributed to the reopening of a boys’ orphanage in Kapisa. The unit has since provided shelter to around 100 children whose parents and relatives are unable to take care of them.
The new girls’ facility provides education, food, clothing and personal care goods, helping to prevent children from being exposed to abuse, child marriage, mistreatment and exploitation.
“Given the terrible circumstances faced by girls in Afghanistan, we chose to support this project as well. Hunger, cold, child labor and various forms of abuse are the order of the day for children and young people. OTB Foundation continues to support this troubled country by trying to give hope to all the requests from families who come to the orphanages, families where women are often the sole breadwinners,” said Arianna Alessi, vice president of the OTB Foundation.
As part of the linkup, Jil Sander will sell a limited-edition T-shirt bearing a heart motif and the phrase “for the children of the world” on the back. Available across Jil Sander’s flagships and online, the brand will donate 50 percent of proceeds from the sale into the OTB Foundation’s girls’ orphanage project in Kapisa.
“For so many girls in Kapisa the orphanage is the only chance to study and eat every day, it is the only hope not to succumb to violence and early marriage. With the help of OTB Foundation, we immediately accepted the proposal of the Ministry of Social Affairs to open a girls’ orphanage,” said Susanna Fioretti, president of Nove Caring Humans.
The complex environment in Afghanistan following the 2021 takeover of the Taliban party has led to a widespread humanitarian emergency with 3.2 million children under the age of 5 facing severe malnutrition, according to a recent report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. In 2023 statistics, UNICEF estimated that almost 40 percent of girls in the country are exposed to early marriage.
“The 50 girls who reside in this new facility in Kapisa receive not only shelter and food, but also access to education, health care and emotional support. This comprehensive assistance enables them to break free from the cycle of poverty and exploitation that often accompanies early marriage,” Alessi said.
Since its establishment in 2006, the charitable arm of the OTB Group, the parent company of brands also including Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor & Rolf, has supported about 350 international projects focused on social development, impacting the lives of 350,000 people.
