Klub přátel Člověka v tísni

By: Gul

Ramzan the fasting month is closed to end and Muslims all over the world make preparations for the celebration of Eid-ul-Fetr (the Eid of Alms). Here in Afghanistan nowadays the streets and bazaars are extremely crowded by people due Shopping’s for Eid. A local quote says that” if the entire market worth a penny and you don’t have that, you can’t buy anything”. There are countless families in the drought stricken rural areas of Afghanistan who couldn’t earn even their basic food needs most of the time. So shopping for Eid was a dream for them.
This EID was different for some of the most vulnerable families in couple of districts of Paktya province. Cash For Work working beneficiaries obtained their wages at the doorstep of EID. This enabled them to enjoy and celebrate their EID differently as they were concerned.
A worker in Ferozkhil village of Ahmadabad Paktya unveiled that his children will have some of the food stuff (dry fruits, baskets and confectionary items usually consumed during EID days) at their own house this time, something they were finding in house of their other wealthy relatives.
Some people say that the real EID is the EID of children. Because of not thinking about the hardships of life, they enjoy wearing new cloths, receiving Eidee (Pocket Money received by children from their elders/guardians on Eid day), and enjoying the installed nearby attractions etc. Hajee Omer Gul 45 said that he couldn’t express the feelings and pleasure of his son in words when he had given him the new cloths that he had purchased for him from CFW wages.

Another aged man Jaweed Khan an inhabitant of Tajokhil village thanked PIN team for giving them their wages entitlement in a suitable & correct time i.e. before EID. He said that they were in dire need of money for their Eid preparation. But unfortunately Jawid was not lucky enough to use the earned wages for his EID shopping’s. He said that he is going to purchase drugs for his sick daughter lying in the bed since few weeks. In spite of that, he was happy and added that treatment and recovery of his sick daughter will be the greatest happiness of EID for him and his entire family.

In addition to facilitation of NSP (National Solidarity Program- the largest rural development program in the history of the country) PIN runs an ECHO funded Cash for Work project in Paktya. So for more than 1200 poorest families have directly benefited from the distribution of wages in Ahmdabad and Sayd Karam districts. While, thousands others will be benefited from the improved and newly created infrastructures created by Cash For Work activities in their respective communities.

The lunch & prayer break is just a half hour away. The burning sun has almost replaced shadows of tall poplar trees. RAHMATULLAH is working very fast than all others. His hard work and skilled weaving style attracts anyone’s attention to him when visiting the gabion wire mesh making site here at the Esa Khil village of Ahmadabad, where more than 20 workers of the nearby communities are being trained on weaving gabion/mesh from steel wire.

After greeting when I found the fact that he was not a local inhabitant further encouraged me to continue my chat with him. RAHMATULLAH disclosed me the sad story of his domestic/personal life which had forced him and his family to settle/move hundreds of kilometers away from his hometown. After moving from eastern province of Kunar and settling in Ahmadabad Paktya, RAHMATULLAH was unemployed for several months which have further increased the burden of life for him and his family.
But a month back he started work with People in Need (PIN). Now he is happy and thankful to PIN that have not only provided him and hundreds others temporary employment opportunities, but also providing them opportunities of learning to acquire the skills that could be useful for their future life also.

RAHMATULLAH also appreciates the hospitality of his host local dwellers who identified and prioritized him as one of the beneficiaries for the Cash For Work project.
When asked about the training he engaged with, he replied: "it was very hard and difficult during first days, but now we have habituated, it is easy and we have become masters”.
RAHMATULLAH expressed his satisfaction and happiness from the training of gabion weaving. Because, in addition to wages he receives, he also gains a skill that could be very useful. “We can work independently in the future and this skill could be a good source of income for us” he added.

RAHMATULLAH and his fellow trainees receive 4 US dollars per day as daily wage and will work for 44 working days all together. During the training their products (gabion boxes) are used for making gabion retaining walls projects in other communities which are prone to and are under the threat of serious disasters such as flash floods.

In addition to gabions mash training project where RAHMATULLAH is employed, currently 25 other projects, are being implemented by PIN through ECHO funded Cash for Work project in Ahmadabad and Sayed Karam districts of Paktya including two bridges.

Among totally planned 1262 families (7572 people), up to date approximately 1000 most vulnerable families are directly benefited from CFW activities through working in above mentioned projects. Furthermore, 300 families (1800 people) with no manpower including women-headed households, families of elderly and disabled will be also supported by sharing the extra benefits with working people.

The project is aimed to improve the food security situation of the most vulnerable population in Paktya by securing the basic food needs of the most vulnerable families in the target districts.

Ahmadabad and Said Karam are less developed districts which are also most seriously affected districts of Paktya hit/affected by past years drought and other natural disasters. On the other hand, the entire dwellers of Ahmadabad and Said Karam districts will be indirectly benefited from the newly created or rehabilitated infrastructures left behind from CFW activities in the mentioned districts.

In addition to current CFW project, PIN has successfully completed similar project in Ahmadabad district last year.

PIN is an active facilitating partner with MRRD in Paktya since 2005 for the implementation of World Bank funded National Solidarity Program-NSP. The organization has covered 152 communities so far and completed approximately 200 sub-projects there.

By: Gul Rahman

Člověk v tísni, o.p.s. hledá vhodného kandidáta/ku na pozici ředitele/ky programu podpory demokracie a lidských práv ve světě. Více informací na webu Člověka v tísni.