Mahbouba Seraj

Mahbouba Seraj and Marnie Gustavson have been working together intensively since June of 2005 to develop programs for Afghan leaders and professionals that integrate western human development concepts promoting effective communication, productivity and accountability into the Afghan social and cultural context. As a training team they have a unique perspective on development in Afghanistan as both professionals grew up in Afghanistan prior to the war and were witness to the social and political processes that were in place in Afghanistan before the Russian invasion. They have both seen what Afghanistan was as a thriving new democracy and so have an understanding of what Afghans are capable of accomplishing as stability and peace comes to this country.

In addition to this, Mahbouba Seraj possesses the unique qualification of being related to the royal family of Habibullah and Amanuallah Khan and the informal education she garnered as a member of this family gives her a broad historical overview of the history of her country’s strengths and weaknesses. This depth in historical knowledge and experience in the Afghan culture transfers into respectful but incisive training and consulting designed to motivate, support and get Afghan leaders into productive future oriented action. Marnie and Mahbouba co-train in English and Farsi and have traveled throughout Afghanistan over the years. As a middle-aged professional training team they are respected and welcomed in the provinces. They are dedicated to providing training in all areas of Afghanistan so that leaders in the rural areas have access to the same quality of capacity building and trainings, as do urban leaders. They believe that the process of social transformation in Afghanistan must be facilitated country-wide and this should be done by training professionals with international experience who are able to provide culturally relevant training to all areas of Afghanistan.