Central Asia Institute supports and promotes community-based education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of Central Asia. Over 150 million children in the world (age 5-14) are deprived of education due to poverty, slavery, sexual discrimination, racial discrimination, racism and religious intolerance, and the cost of educating each child in the third world is about $1 per month per child. Several global studies show that a (at least) fifth grade education level for girls, is the most significant factor in imporverished societies to: 1. Decrease Infant Mortality Rates 2. Decrease / Stabilize Population Growth 3. Significantly improve the basic quality of health and life quality over a generation In Pakistan and Afghanistan, CAI's projects focus on girl's education, literacy and basic health education. Recently, after the October 2005, Pakistan earthquake in Azad Kashmir, we have launched small community-based initiatives to help support ongoing education for children in tent schools. In Afghanistan, we are the first and one of few organizations helping to promote education initiatives in the remote regions of the Wakhan corridor, extreme NE Afghanistan. CAI's community projects are primarily located in remote, underserved regions where few organizations work. Often, CAI works in regions where the literacy rate is less than 5% and one out of three babies born alive dies before age one.