Who We Are

AADO was established in 2002 by prominent Afghan-Australian; Dr Nouria Salehi, AM and Senior Citizen of the Year 2012, following many years of privately assisting Afghans to settle in Australia and raising funds to help families in Afghanistan

The Afghan Australian Development Organisation is a voluntary, nonprofit, non-government member organisation. Its primary purpose is to implement projects that assist in the reconstruction and sustainable development of communities within Afghanistan. Within Australia AADO seeks to support the Afghan community.

We are a not-for-profit association incorporated in Victoria and governed by a Committee of Management. We are registered as a local non-government organisation with the Afghan Ministry of Economics as Afghan Australian Development & Rehabilitation Organisation and we have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Afghan Ministry of Education.

AADO is:

  • registered with the ACNC
  • a member of the Australian Council for International Development and signatory to its Code of Conduct
  • registered with the ATO for Deductible Gift Recipient status meaning donations to AADO are tax deductible.

We do not currently receive funding from the Australian Government for our programs. Our longstanding and much-valued funding partners have been in the past Planet Wheeler Foundation, Cabrini Mission, D&K Foundation, Portland House Foundation and the Cubit Family Foundation. There are many other individual donors who stand by us and support our work. Thank you all!

We are one of the few Australian NGOs to work in only one country – Afghanistan.

We provide formal and informal education, training and professional skills, working with Afghan people to achieve their own priorities. Projects are managed by our Afghan team and field staff who are trusted and deeply linked to community networks. We are led by a large diaspora of Afghan Australians and know and respect Afghan culture and traditions.

We have a proven track record of high outcome, low-cost programs and close to 100% of our income is spent directly on projects. We do not tolerate corruption and all funds are sent from Australia and strictly accounted for.

Our Committee of Management and office bearers:

  • Jackie Fristacky AM, President
    Born in Kabul, Jackie is a lawyer and public policy analyst who formerly taught at La Trobe University; worked in Federal and State governments including as a Tribunal member and was formerly a City of Yarra Councillor and Mayor Emeritus. She has authored a family memoir: My Mother and the Prince: Jana Shindler Fristacky in Kabul 1946-1952.
  • Nouria Salehi AM, Executive Director, AADO Founder
    Nouria grew up in Kabul, worked for over 40 years as a nuclear physicist and biophysicist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and previously in this field in Lyon, France. She was formerly on the Board of the Refugee Council of Australia, Amnesty International Australia, and Brotherhood of St Laurence.
  • Jen Davis, Secretary
    Jen is a retired microbiologist with background in public health She volunteers at community radio RRR and she is a former Board Member and Chair, The Leprosy Mission Australia.
  • David Brennan, Treasurer
    David is a retired CPA with a background in financial management of manufacturing companies in Australia and Asia.
  • Cena Farahmand, Committee Member
    Cena was a former Employment Consultant and Aid Co-ordinator at AMES, Melbourne. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Management from Australian Institute of Business and worked as Internal Auditor with the United Nations (UN) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • Nilofar Zabih, Committee Member
    Nilofar is economist with a Bachelors in Economics, Kabul University, and a background in banking and finance including as Team Leader, Deputy Risk Manager at the Afghanistan International Bank in Kabul and Finance Officer for the Afghan Women Resources Centre, Kabul. She currently works as Senior Customer Settlement Specialist at ANZ Bank in Docklands, Melbourne.

We are based in Melbourne at PO Box 87, Ashburton Vic 3147.

Other contact details:

  • info@aado.org.au
  • www.aado.org.au
  • AADO postal address: PO Box 87, Ashburton Vic 3147 

Here is where you can view AADO Annual Reports.