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Afghanaid
Development House
56-64 Leonard Street
LONDON EC2A 4LT
info@afghanaid.org.uk
Tel: 020 7065 0825
Charity Number: 1045348

1988 - 1992

• Afghanaid continued to expand, with projects spread over 12 provinces. We also began working with other agencies to allow fast response to emergencies in Afghanistan.

• By now our tailoring project in Pakistan became self-financing, employing ninety Afghan refugees and producing record numbers of clothes. In 1989 the project produced a record 32,000 school uniforms and 17,700 school bags. These were distributed free by the United Nations to refugee children in northern Pakistan. As well as making uniforms, the tailors began producing covers made of foam and waterproof canvas for transporting refrigeration boxes containing vaccines. These were used by medical charities working in the area.

• The cash-for-food programme ended, allowing Afghanaid to concentrate on longer term food production projects.

Agriculture

Afghanaid funded projects to restore agricultural production. Eleven irrigation canals were cleaned and repaired, bringing water back to villages where supplies had been cut off by war damage.  The agricultural and irrigation projects continued to dominate Afghanaid’s long term work. A major flood protection and irrigation programme was implemented in Kunduz province, employing over 200 local labourers. At Aftab-Logh a flood protection wall was built and over 1km of irrigation channels were excavated to improve the water supply. As a result, 800 people had irrigated farmland on which to grow their crops. The largest project was the Naqi canal, which involved constructing an irrigation channel serving land equivalent to the size of 2,033 football pitches. A concrete flood protection wall was also built to prevent water seeping out due to the erosion of the river banks. Over 1,200 families benefited from this project. For information about Afghanaid's ongoing agricultural projects click here.

Emergencies

In Badakhshan, poor harvests in 1987 and 1988 forced many families to sell or kill their livestock. Afghanaid, working together with several other agencies, organised a rapid distribution of food to the affected areas. This was followed later by distributions of seed and fertiliser.

Food distribution

In March 1989, in response to appeals for help from villagers who could not afford rising food prices, Afghanaid ran the first emergency food aid distribution to areas around Kabul. In ten days, Afghanaid distributed 25 tonnes of wheat donated by the World Food Programme in Chardihi, just outside Kabul. In Parwan province in 1991, flash floods just before harvest wiped out crops. Afghanaid provided cash grants for affected families to purchase food. Money was distributed to almost 6,500 people. Afghanaid also provided food, blankets and tents to refugees who had fled from fighting. 

Road and bridge building

Afghanaid began a programme of road and bridge building in Badakhshan province, where the poor state of roads left many remote communities cut off from other areas in the flood season. Transportation costs were high, and the prices for food and other essentials out the reach of many families. In order to improve access to markets and help reduce prices, Afghanaid paid for the construction of a 50km link road along a major trade route in Badakhshan. The road was able to accommodate motor vehicles for the first time. A further 46km of donkey tracks were widened and nine bridges were built.

Beekeeping

Afghanaid began beekeeping projects to help families increase their incomes and improve their standard of living. Fifty colonies of bees were purchased in Pakistan and transported to Badakhshan in the far north-east of Afghanistan in 1992 and 1993. Before distributing the hives, 20 farmers were trained. A two week course had been planned, but the farmers were so quick and keen to learn, that everything was covered in a week. Most of the hives were sold to local families for a nominal charge, but many more wanted to buy them. The hives were an instant success and by late 1994, the number of hives had been increased to 98, shared among 28 families. Honey production from the hives totalled over one metric tonne. Since then beekeeping has become an integral part of Afghanaid's long-term programme in Badakhshan.