Participants at work during the training.
On January 17, district-level officials of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and community elders from several villages attended the closing ceremony of carpentry training in Khaki Jabbar District, Kabul Province. All 30 male trainees were between 18 and 35 years old, a demographic which is especially vulnerable to anti-government element (AGE) recruitment efforts when economic and education opportunities are scarce. Although USAID’s Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) Project funded this activity, the activity itself was identified by community leaders and designed to give trainees skills which could be used in finding gainful employment. During the training, participants learned how to make doors, windows, desks, tables, and shelves. The district governor distributed completion certificates to all trainees, along with toolkits which included hammers, saws, hand drills, chisels, and other carpentry equipment. Participant Sayed Bashir said, “We are illiterate; there was no other opportunity for us, but now this carpentry training will be highly beneficial. We are gaining new techniques and new lessons, and a new profession through which we can feed our families and ourselves.”
USAID/Afghanistan Program Highlights: 1/15/2011-1/31/2011