Hazrat Hakeem Sanayee (1088 - 1166 A.D.) was one of Afghanistan's most outstanding poets. His endless pursuit of life and Islam cultivated a deep understanding of religion, logic, philosophy and literature. As an organization that aims to provide opportunities to Afghans through education, Sanayee Development Organization is named after Sanayee as a mark of both his scholarly and literary achievements and his profound knowledge of Islam.

SDO is a registered Afghan development non-governmental organization. Established in Peshawar in 1990, SDO now works in 10 provinces across Afghanistan. SDO’s programs focus on community-based peace building, education, civil society development and community health.

SDO aims to contribute to the development of a peaceful, free and developed Afghanistan, based on positive Afghan cultural values. We work toward an Afghanistan in which the population lives in peace, with self-dignity and self-sufficiency, and where people manage their own personal development and the development of the society in which they live. As such, SDO undertakes its projects on the basis of self-help initiatives for the people concerned, with authentic community participation during all phases of the project, including the identification of needs, project implementation, maintenance and evaluation. SDO believes that a society can be holistically developed when its people are aware and able to determine their own destiny – politically, socially and economically. Given the strong relationship between government and people, the development and strength of one will enable the development and strength of the other. This is possible when the government truly represents the people and works for their benefit. The government can authentically represent the people when it works in cooperation with civil society. SDO endeavors to contribute to the strengthening of civil society and to a positive relationship between civil society and the Government of Afghanistan.

To contribute to the development of a peaceful, developed and self-sustaining Afghan society through education, training and other forms of building the capacity of individuals, civil society groups and Afghan Government staff in the sectors of peace building, civil society development, education, and community health.

These values are maintained for both SDO’s work in the community, as well as inside the organization.   1. Islamic Values:        SDO seeks to work according to Islamic values, respecting the positive culture and traditions of Afghan society.  2. Honesty:                  SDO endeavors to be honest, transparent and reliable. 3. Commitment:          SDO is committed to serving the Afghan people constructively. 4. Cooperation:           SDO contributes to the promotion of a culture of peace, cooperation and non-violence in Afghan Society. 5. Equality:                  SDO is committed to the equal participation of all Afghans, irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity.