10,000 days of empowerment
On 7 February 2011, Afghanaid will celebrate 10,000 days of existence. As this landmark approaches, we are taking the opportunity to ask the question: “What makes Afghanaid different from other aid agencies?”
The slogan ‘from aid to empowerment’ encapsulates our vision of how development should be delivered. For Afghanaid, ‘aid’ is not only about responding to emergencies. It’s about building the capacity of Afghan communities to make better lives for themselves.
Afghanaid has always put capacity development at the heart of its work and many former Afghanaid staff members are now to be found in senior positions in international agencies, government and the private sector. Older staff members still refer to Afghanaid as their ‘university’ and even when resources are tight we still give training high priority. At present we are building capacity in new areas such as Governance, Disaster Risk Management and Micro-enterprise. International experts on short-term contracts are passing on their expertise to staff at national, provincial and district levels, allowing those who deliver the projects in the villages to gain the expertise and share it with communities.
Self Help Groups which promote savings and fund small businesses are another high priority. Groups of poor men and women are trained in book-keeping and business skills and encouraged to save and invest. Afghanaid’s social coordinators assist the groups in identifying market prospects which provide sustainable sources of income and link them to markets and credit facilities.
Afghanaid is increasing the technical skills of farmers through Farmer Field Schools, which trial new varieties of wheat and of orchard crops. It also helps them to form farmers’ and growers’ associations, which spreads the word on new practices and enables poor farmers to demand a competitive price for their crops.
So, “what makes Afghanaid different?” That’s simple – 10,000 days of empowerment.