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Telling Our Story

The trainee stone-cutters say their skills will be invaluable in a province where local stone is plentiful and the construction sector is booming

Stone-cutting: Gem Of A Profession

23 May 2013 | Balkh, Afghanistan

Gul Alam and other job-seekers in the northern Afghan province of Balkh are learning how to cut stone and for Gul, more than anyone else,...

After the 2011 flood, the Provincial Governor collaborated with USAID and the villagers on a plan that would mitigate the consequences of the river flooding its banks

An Afghan Dam Stems Tragic Flood

22 May 2013 | Ghazni, Afghanistan

Abdul Hakimi has lost his home three times in 25 years. Each time, a flood surged through his village in Ghazni province in central Afghanistan,...

Workers were hired from the community to pave pedestrian pathways, place bollards between the highway and bazaar and dig drainage ditches between the bollards and highway.

Protecting The Children Of Zabul

19 May 2013 | Zabul, Afghanistan

For years, the bustling Shar-e Safa bazaar, which straddles Afghanistan’s primary national highway in the Tarnak wa Jaldak district of Zabul province, was locally regarded...

The program gives grants to providers of business, technical and vocational education and the grantees are required to create bespoke courses for private companies’ workers

Plan Profits Afghan Private Sector

16 May 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Zoya Hemat is a client assistant at a private bank in Kabul. Till recently, says the 22-year-old, she was acutely aware that she lacked the...

Family support is considered key in a tradition-bound country like Afghanistan, where women generally need approval before they embark on projects outside the home.

New Afghan Women Learn Old Skills

15 May 2013 | Balkh, Afghanistan

In March 2013, Mohammad Asef received an unusual request. It was about his daughter, Amena, who was all of 21. USAID’s Afghan Workforce Development Program...

Processed cashmere commands almost double the price of raw on world markets

Cashing In On Afghan Cashmere

14 May 2013 | Faizabad, Badakhshan

Abdul Basir Hotak’s plans for Afghanistan’s cashmere sector include some evolution and a small revolution. Hotak, whose cashmere processing company supplies hand spun yarn to...

A woman entrepreneur from Bamyan asks a representative of the Bank-e-Millie about a loan to develop her business

Linking Banks With Small Businesses

13 May 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Entrepreneurs from across Afghanistan flocked to the Access to Finance exhibition organized by the Afghanistan Banks Association with USAID support. Over the course of two...

The lessons seem to have awakened the joy of learning in the women. Many now say they want to continue to study and some even dream of helping others to learn.

Farah’s Women And Joy Of Learning

18 April 2013 | Farah, Afghanistan

The lives of women in five villages in Afghanistan’s Farah province are set to change and it’s all because of Pashto literacy classes. Women like...

“After participating in the roundtable, and listening to what the elders and panelists have said, I know we must give women their land and inheritance. It is based in our religion and the constitution. “ - Haji Noorullah

Brother Shares Land with Sisters

11 April 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Land is the most important economic asset in Afghanistan. In rural areas, access to land is key to avoiding poverty. When a woman relinquishes her...

The Afghan Women Judges Association inspires female students from Law and Sharia Faculties to pursue careers in Afghanistan’s justice sector.

Afghan Women Judges Encourage Female Students to Join Their Ranks

10 April 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan women face frequent discrimination, and under Afghan culture, it is more acceptable for women to express their grievances to female, rather than male, judges....

Even though Sinak and Hazari villages are in an insurgency-affected area, the project was completed without trouble because the community judged it too important to allow any interference

Drowning In Sorrow? Not Anymore

7 April 2013 | Zabul, Afghanistan

For years, the villages of Sinak and Hazari in southern Afghanistan suffered the consequences of broken flood barriers and blocked ca-nals. The municipal drainage infrastructure...

In a first for Wardak in eastern Afghanistan, residents had the chance to talk to ‘service providers’, find out what was on offer and how to take advantage of it

Wardak: Fair Start To A Better Future

2 April 2013 | Wardak, Afghanistan

It was a fair unlike any other in Wardak, eastern Afghanistan. More than 800 attended the event in the provincial capital Maidan Shahr that showcased...

Habibullah’s dreams echo those of more than 90 graduates and 200 trainees who have learnt one of four traditional skills at the Institute from 2008.

Afghan Jeweler’s Glittering Future

12 March 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

When Habibullah Saifizada looks at one of his gemstones, he sees a glittering symbol of the future.  A graduate of the USAID-funded Institute of Afghan...

Fakhria is very proud that her work will be displayed at an international exhibition and says she would never been good enough without the training she received at the Kabul Institute

An Afghan Woman Presents Her Art to the World

11 March 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Fakhria spent months painstakingly painting a peacock using the traditional Afghan  technique of nuqtapardazi. Her work is now headed for Qatar as a part of Ferozkoh...

‘After I was trained, I changed my method of raising cows. I cemented the cowshed floor, put in a wooden container for water and fixed exhaust fans’ Sima Behbodi, mother of seven and successful dairy farmer in Mazar e-Sharif

Mother Dreams Of More Cash Cows

6 March 2013 | Balkh, Afghanistan

Sima Behbodi started dairy farming four years ago with just one calf. Today, says the mother of seven, “I have eight cows and all produce...

‘This is a dream come true for me. I learned so much at the training and have become so confident that I was able to start my own beauty business’ Farzana, mother of six

A Beautiful Afghan Business Venture

4 March 2013 | Helmand, Afghanistan

For years, Farzana dreamt of running a business and earning enough to support her family. Her husband was unemployed, and it was a struggle to...

‘I could never have aspired to such a high position in the municipality, where men always occupied the key jobs’ Zahra, 19, Manager, Farah Department of Municipal Administration

Teenage Girl takes on Senior Role

2 March 2013 | Farah, Afghanistan

At just 19 years old, Zahra Abdul Aziz is a trailblazer for the women of Afghanistan’s western province of Farah. As a manager in Farah’s...

WTO Prioritizes Afghanistan’s Accession

WTO Prioritizes Afghanistan’s Accession

2 March 2013 | GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

USAID's TAFA An Afghan delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industries Mozammil Shinwari participated in a crucial meeting regarding WTO accession at...

‘My in-laws and my husband started beating me on a regular basis. I’m lucky that this organization heard my voice’ Asma, 18

Women Have Their Day in Court

2 March 2013 | Herat, Afghanistan

Asma was just 18 when she arrived at Herat’s Legal Aid Clinic seeking refuge from an abusive husband. Her family had forced her to marry...

‘This is the first time that I harvested 6,960 kg of potatoes from one jerib. I’m going to apply this method to my entire land’ Habibullah, farmer and father of three

Happy Farmers of Faryab

28 February 2013 | Faryab, Afghanistan

For years, Habibullah, a potato farmer in Afghanistan’s northern province of Faryab, struggled to support his family. His land never yielded enough to pay for...

Drought, caused by poor rains over the last two seasons, has affected prospects for work in 14 Afghan provinces. Many families go to bed hungry

Food For Work Nourishes Afghans

27 February 2013 | Jawzjan, Afghanistan

Abdul Jalil is a master mason in Jawzjan province in the north of Afghanistan but he earns too little to feed his family of 12....

Small Business Loans, Big Changes

Small Business Loans, Big Changes

20 February 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

USAID's FAIDA Shamim (on the left) tries out the new treadmill she bought with the loan For Shamim and Mohammad Hafiz, microfinance...

Helping Women Help Themselves

Helping Women Help Themselves

19 February 2013 | Kandahar, Afghanistan

USAID's S-RAD/IRD The poultry training course underway in Arghandab district Insurgents killed Babo’s husband three years ago, and soon after the grieving widow’s...

Harvest of Peace

Harvest of Peace

18 February 2013 | Khost, Afghanistan

USAID's CADG Local workers repaired flood barriers and later, the district’s largest irrigation network of traditional underground tunnels For years, Nadir Shah...

By the Light of a Cellphone

By the Light of a Cellphone

12 February 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

USAID's RLS-Formal The team from Panjsher Institute poses with their coaches at the Afghan National Round of theJessup International Moot Court Competition. Five...

It’s a Park Life in Kabul

It’s a Park Life in Kabul

10 February 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

USAID's KCI Kabul Municipality and Kabul City Initiative (KCI) Inaugurated four world class public parks between November 2012 and January 2013. All four...

Kandahar Meets Needs Of Its People

Kandahar Meets Needs Of Its People

4 February 2013 | Kandahar, Afghanistan

USAID's RAMP UP A municipal employee at the newly-launched information service desk Kandahar’s residents say their lives have been transformed since the installation...

‘Problem’ Village Unites For Solution

‘Problem’ Village Unites For Solution

4 February 2013 | Paktika, Afghanistan

USAID's CADG Zamarai Kot village turns out to repair a canal There’s a reason that Zamarai Kot is locally dubbed ‘Mushkil’. The...

In Arghandab, A Road More Traveled

In Arghandab, A Road More Traveled

30 January 2013 | Kandahar, Afghanistan

USAID's CADG ‘Now, I can go to and from work on my own. I don’t need anyone to push me. I also have the...

Tani district is transformed. Flooding is a thing of the past. Healthy crops stand tall on land that has not yielded a harvest in years

Khost’s Farmers Are Home For Good

25 January 2013 | Khost, Afghanistan

When Abdul Ahmad left Pakistan for Afghanistan it symbolized more than one man’s decision to come home. It marked the return of a generation of...

Bowling Up Opportunities in Kandahar

Bowling Up Opportunities in Kandahar

17 January 2013 | Kandahar, Afghanistan

USAID's CCI The Director of the Department of Sports and Olympics presents jerseys to a team captain. Afghanistan is not so different...

Linking Citizens to Legal Services

Linking Citizens to Legal Services

14 January 2013 | Balkh, Afghanistan

USAID's SAIBA The Balkh Deputy Provincial Governor delivers a formal speech at the official opening of the AIBA Balkh sub-office. ...

Timely Loan Inspires Growth

Timely Loan Inspires Growth

13 January 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

USAID's FAIDA Merajudin Amiri, Operations Manager of Tak Dana Food Processing Company, inspects their produce. Haji Eshan knew there was a huge...

Pioneering Women Pave the Way in Kandahar

Pioneering Women Pave the Way in Kandahar

7 January 2013 | Kandahar, Afghanistan

USAID's RAMP UP Female data entry clerks enter parcel registration data at the City Hall in Kandahar. Kandahar, the largest city in...

Building A City, One Street At A Time

Building A City, One Street At A Time

6 January 2013 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan

USAID's LARA Community members discuss street widening plans. Welcome to Araban, an informal settlement in the city of Jalalabad, where the streets...

An Afghan Community Rebuilds Hope

An Afghan Community Rebuilds Hope

2 January 2013 | Khost, Afghanistan

USAID's CADG In Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, skilled laborers work with unskilled villagers to repair the canal network A master mason...