Monday, June 01, 2009

Afghan Action is a social enterprise wholly owned by a British charity, the Afghan Training Foundation (reg no 1111897). We opened in Karte Se, Kabul in September 2005 with startup funding from the British Government and, by last August, we had trained 330 men and women (including some disabled people) and were employing over 170 people - and just completing an order for 300m2 of rugs and runners for Habitat. We had also made some carpets for John Lewis and a large, beautiful carpet for The Rug Company. In the sharp economic downturn which followed, we were forced, very reluctantly, to make cuts to our workforce, but, with hard work and great care, we have not only survived but are rebuilding and currently have 50 people on site in Karte Se.

Over the past 3 years, we have held over 90 sales and events across the UK, in churches and cathedrals, businesses, people’s homes and the Houses of Parliament. We have growing links with some large companies in Afghanistan who will help open doors to others. Armor Group held a sale recently in its Kabul premises and over 40m2 of carpet was sold. They are offering more sales opportunities and also sponsoring 20 trainees.

We have expanded into ICT (at the very cutting edge of virtualisation), working with Afghanistan’s largest internet provider, Neda Holding and London-based Tribune Business Systems. This exciting project could make a significant impact on ICT access in Afghanistan and our target groups will initially be schools.

We have 2 British Council schools exchange programmes (Harpenden/Mazar and Hammersmith/Kabul) and earlier in May had a group of school principals from Mazar visiting Harpenden.

The Department for International Development have granted us a minigrant to work in development education with schools in East Yorkshire and, provisionally, a larger grant for raising awareness across the UK among faith groups, businesses and the media.

We have a London programme with diaspora groups now going really well and, we hope, shortly to get renewed funding for this work. We have links at the highest levels in the British and Afghan Governments, with international businesses, small companies, NGOs and the military - and over 1500 people on our database here in the UK.

In our Kabul carpet factory, we are managing to survive the economic downturn and are growing again after going through the rockiest of times - but the human cost to our young workers has been considerable. We believe we are setting employment standards which will be of lasting benefit to Afghanistan.

I attended a DFID conference recently about their forthcoming White Paper and the slogan at the front was: “The Department for International Development in conversation with… ” - then a collection of logos of CAFOD, Christian Aid, Save the Children, Oxfam, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief and other large charities. In my view, they’re the juggernauts, and, in Afghanistan, they’re doing excellent work providing large scale humanitarian aid and, in some cases, some very good training. We are on a bike, however, able to weave in and out of the side streets and find our way to things they cannot reach. We don’t carry large overheads and our UK work is mainly run by inspirational volunteers with skills and expertise - and deep personal commitment.

In the coming decade, what happens to the 25 million people living in Afghanistan - 60% of whom are under 25 - will be of critical significance for the whole world. Average life expectancy is only 43 and half the population lives below the poverty line, with unemployment a staggering 40%.

We know from our experience, and from what the Afghan people in Afghanistan and the UK repeatedly tell us, that the real hope for this beleaguered country and its suffering people lies not in military solutions or more humanitarian aid - but in good jobs, honest businesses and fair access to international markets.

Buy a carpet - change a life - and secure a future for us all.