AAGW — Association of Albanian Girls and Women

The Association of Albanian Girls and Women (AAGW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered at 2412 N. Quantico Street in Arlington, Virginia, that channels U.S.-based support to survivors of sex trafficking and domestic violence in Albania. Despite its Arlington mailing address, the programmatic work happens overseas — Arlington is the legal and fundraising base, not a service site.

AAGW was founded in 2003 and, by its own account, was named by sex trafficking survivors themselves. Its focus is the period after a survivor leaves a shelter: helping women reintegrate, find footing, and support themselves independently rather than providing emergency crisis housing. In 2013, the program was expanded to include survivors of domestic violence alongside trafficking survivors.

The organization's work centers on financial, emotional, and educational support, with backing for counseling, job training, schooling, and income-generation programs. The through-line across its own materials and outside profiles, including End Slavery Now and a feature in NA Magazine, is post-shelter reintegration and long-term economic independence for Albanian women.

Within the Albanian-American landscape, AAGW sits in a narrower niche than a typical cultural or hometown association. It functions as a U.S. donor and advocacy vehicle tied specifically to anti-trafficking and gender-based violence work in Albania, and it is listed in Charity Navigator and Candid under that mission.