FARAH, Afghanistan (April 14, 2010) –Farah provincial leadership hosted the first Alternative Livelihood Donors Coordination meeting, April 14, in Farah, Afghanistan.
The conference was established to provide provincial leadership with a venue to address international and local donors with the needs of the local populace.
“The majority of Farah’s population is poor, so the families that are unable to move internally or outside the country turn to anti-governmental organizations to survive,” said Farah Provincial Governor Rahool Amin. “Our goal is to provide the men and women of Farah with other skill sets and opportunities to survive.”
The speakers voiced specific concerns in agriculture, infrastructure, private sector development, education, social protection and health.
“Alternative livelihoods is presenting Afghans with development options other than the growing and selling of illicit crops,” said Dr. Nazir Qayoome, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime representative.
Some of the proposed projects for alternative livelihoods include vocational training opportunities for men and women, literacy courses, awareness campaigns on harms of drugs and water pipe projects to enable the people of Farah to access potable water.
Representatives from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Association for Rural Development, United States Agency for International Development, Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah and local Non-Governmental Organizations were in attendance.
No comments:
Post a Comment