Through the prism of good governance
On the 28th January London hosted a conference to engage world support for Afghanistan. Of the issues on the table economic development and good governance prevailed.
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown decreed "if Afghanistan is to enjoy greater stability, farmers and working people in towns and villages must have a greater stake in their economic future." He used the term "Afghanisation" to refer to the initiative to build Afghan-led institutions.
William Hague, the newly appointed UK First Secretary of State, told a conference in 2008 that stabilising Afghanistan would be "the single most urgent focus" for a new conservative government.
Afghanaid has put Afghans at the centre of our work giving rural communities a voice and a stake in their future for nearly thirty years.
It is our view that in order to have sustainable and successful development, activities must be delivered through the prism of good governance.
We begin by striving to work with every strata of society, including farmers associations, youth groups and resource people from the relevant government departments. Local governance institutions outside the Government of Afghanistan's formal structures, such as Community Development Councils (CDCs), are key partners in our work.
The objective of this diverse engagement is to develop the capacity of local governance institutions and to empower communities, interest groups and associations to play an active role in development through a constructive dialogue.
The World Bank note "From Reconstruction to Commerce: Community Development Councils Transform Social Capital into Economic Capital in Afghanistan" (January 2010) highlights Afghanaid's contributions to the National Solidarity Programme by building and strengthening groups in savings/credit and enhancing a bottom-up approach in micro enterprise development.
Building local institutions and strengthening local voices
Afghanaid is engaged in an innovative project which is amplifying the 'voices' of rural Afghans.
Through workshops, grass roots institutions are encouraged to develop a common vision to improve governance and address community issues, particularly those faced by the poor and marginalised.
To articulate plans of operation and carry forward these ideas, Afghanaid is helping to train key community representatives about human rights, civic education, gender equality, social inclusion and conflict mitigation as well as leadership and group management. Participants are encouraged to think and respond to the materials in terms of how these would impact and influence them as they are implemented within their communities.
In coordination with Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), a local Afghan not-for-profit, Afghanaid is working with the communities to build strategies to carry out advocacy activities. The activities may include facilitating meetings with provincial government, travel for representatives to Kabul to meet relevant ministers and/or the production of reports and policy papers.
One tool of advocacy will be to use the local media. Afghanaid will assist local communities to broadcast key achievements and progress of the project through local print media, radio, and TV. This will not only raise the awareness of the general public on the current policy debate, but also indirectly help influence the key concerns by garnering the involvement of local communities.
Through these actions, the citizens are better linked to the national government and the gap which has been created between government and constituencies over the past three decades of war and civil unrest is being rebuilt.
Afghanaid strongly believes that good governance can only be enhanced where there is representation from the grassroots level.
Contributed by Gulru Dodkhudoeva, Director of Advocacy and Partnership Development and Amanda Curley, UK Fundraising Manager