Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Afghan Action has Expanded its activities in Afghanistan

Big changes are taking place in Afghanistan as the Afghan Army takes growing responsibility for maintaining security in parts of Helmand and elsewhere in the country - against a backdrop of continuing violence, assassinations and brutality.

Afghan Action has been working for 6 years in Afghanistan and we are determined not to give up, in spite of the harrowing news which keeps hitting the headlines.

This week, our new project begins, to educate and train, in sewing and clothes-making, 46 young people - mainly women - over the next 2 years.

Meanwhile, we have piloted a training programme to equip some of our carpet weavers with business skills - and they’re now ready to get going. In fact, what we’ve learned has refocused our whole training programme, so everyone now will do 12 months’ vocational skills training (24 hours a week) and education (16 hours a week) - consisting of literacy and numeracy in Dari, ICT, English and business skills.

The aim is to educate, upskill and equip young people to run their own businesses - a tall order, but how they are rising to the challenge!

We actually trained 12 people on the pilot programme. This is what has become of them:

• Marzia is now working at her home on a trade carpet for a business.
• Ali Joma is working with a construction company in the day and working on a trade carpet with his family in the night time.
• Hamed is working in a beverages company full time.
• Zarif successfully passed the entrance exam to university and is now studying agriculture in Nangarhar Province. In his free time he is working in a shop to pay his expenses.
• Halima got engaged to be married while doing her business skills training and after completing the training, she got married and is now busy with her new life.
• Sadeq is now working in an Ice Cream shop.
• Soraya intended to start a business working from home with her neighbours, but her mother is ill and she is busy on housework at present.
• Soma is still working with her sister (Dibah) at Afghan Action on special orders.
• Zakia still working at Afghan Action on special orders.
• Ghulam Ali is still working with Afghan Action.
• Fawzia is still going to school for half a day and working half a day with Afghan Action.
• Shila left Afghan Action after completing her training to work at home but is returning to Afghan Action.

Now, we need orders for carpets which they can make - and we also want to support them a bit more as they embark on this huge challenge.

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP!

We want to raise £3000 in the next month - which will provide some continuing support for the next 6 months for those starting up in business.

Please will you check out this link: https://www.buzzbnk.org/ProjectDetails.aspx?projectId=33

If you could pledge £10 (or more if you are able to!) as soon as possible, we only need 274 people to do so and we are there (we have £260 so far).

I do hope you can respond - and help these amazing young men and women take another big step towards playing their part in rebuilding their beautiful but war torn country.

And, by the way, please take a look at the latest presentation about Afghanistan and Afghan Action’s work - on the “Who we are” section of our website: http://www.afghanaction.co.uk/index.php/afghanaction

With best wishes

Chris Beales and all at Afghan Action