Afghanaid

Afghanaid is a secular British humanitarian-aid non-governmental charity. Afghanaid has its origins in the Afghanistan Support Committee which was founded in London in 1981. Two years later, Afghanaid was set up as an independent charity to provide assistance to Afghans in hardship and distress. In the early days we funded other organisations with proven track records.

Afghanaid has worked alongside Afghan communities for over two decades. They currently work directly with over 500,000 adults and children focusing on long term sustainable development in rural areas. In a country where 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5, their work has an immediate effect helping build a future where people have healthier lives.

They currently work in four provinces of Afghanistan (Ghor, Samangan, Badakhshan and Nuristan) These provinces •are some of the poorest and most remote regions in Afghanistan.

Afghanaid, although a UK based charity, has approximately 450 staff in Afghanistan and just 3 in the UK. Virtually all of the staff in Afghanistan are of Afghan nationality.Fact|date=February 2007

Afghanaid mainly focuses on community development and supporting livelihoods, and they primarily work with women.

Afghanaid:
* establish village organisations – providing sustainable frameworks through which villagers identify and address their development needs.
* work with men, women and children, including the most vulnerable (women-headed households, landless, disabled)
* work in agriculture and livestock to eliminate food deficits and end the spiral of debt.
* provide vocational training for women.
* train traditional birth attendants; teach/bring basic health and hygiene messages.
* run micro-finance systems for farmers and women to invest in newly learned skills.
* establish tree nurseries providing food and watershed management.
* train basic veterinary workers.
* build roads, bridges and micro hydro-power schemes
* train village leaders in conflict resolution, peace building and the rights of the child.
* organise play schemes for children known as 'child peer groups'.

The ability and commitment of our staff has enabled Afghanaid to continue working, despite difficult security situations, over the last twenty years and we remain committed to the people of Afghanistan well into the future.

External links

* [http://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ Home Page]
* [http://www.observatoire-humanitaire.org/fusion.php?l=GB&id=34 Aid Watch]
* [http://www.observatoire-humanitaire.org/fusion.php?l=FR&id=34 Observatoire de l'action humanitaire]