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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

A letter from David Page, Chair of Afghanaid

Dear Friend,

Visiting the Afghanistan exhibition at the British Museum, I was struck by the long view which comes with the study of archaeology. Current British perspectives on Afghanistan seem increasingly short-term. The news media tend to focus on the war and the need to remove ourselves from a long and expensive intervention.

I am pleased to say that the British Government is taking the longer view. The Department for International Development (DFID) has set out its plans for the next four years, aid has been increased, and we hope that Britain will be able to encourage others with shorter horizons to follow its example. However, ‘transition' has certainly set some alarm bells ringing - and fears that some of the progress that has been made - in the field of development, education, health, women's rights and media freedom - may be lost.

Afghanaid's perspective may not match that of the British Museum but we are proud of our nearly 30 years of work in Afghanistan and see this as a moment to renew our commitment. Much has been achieved. We are particularly proud of the work that we have done as partners of the Afghan government in implementing the National Solidarity Programme - operating in 2,500 hundred villages, arranging local elections and helping communities to implement their development priorities. And we have seen some remarkable changes in those villages in the last few years - including women emerging as local leaders and decision-makers.

But after so much warfare and disruption, the challenges remain huge. Some of them are undoubtedly man-made (and I say that advisedly); some are simply due to the terrain and the climate, which are major impediments to progress. I am sure you will be shocked to learn that, according to the latest vulnerability index, approximately 25% of the Afghan population (more than 7 million people) are food-insecure - in other words they do not have enough to eat. And that is why one of the main pillars of our strategy is to improve the resilience of communities - to enable them to cope with regular droughts and floods.

What difference can a small charity like Afghanaid make? One of our great assets is our 400 Afghan staff working at the grass roots level in Badakhshan, Ghor and Samangan. It is their knowledge, their cultural sensitivity and the respect they have within the local communities which is the guarantee that money entrusted to us will be spent effectively.

As a British charity, we also play a role in putting forward a case for Afghanistan in the UK. We are particularly grateful to all our supporters in the UK and around the world who give their time, their talents and their resources to support our work. The money raised from individuals plays a vital role in our work: providing seed funding for projects or extending our work to new communities.

This is an important moment to look forward. We hope we can count on your support in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. In 2011, Afghanaid aims to raise £100,000 in unrestricted funding to ensure that we continue to develop our vital work. Please help us reach our goal. Consider making a donation to our work today by completing the donation form on the reverse side of this letter.

Sincerely,
David Page