Afghanistan: Program Puts Decision-Making into Community’s Hands
December 19, 2006 -- Mohammad Shah is the headmaster of the boys’ secondary school in Godara village in Istalif District, an hour’s drive outside Kabul.
Mohammad Shah outlines benefits the National Solidarity Program has brought to his village.
Shah also heads the village’s Community Development Council, an elected governance body that oversees the funds from the National Solidarity Program (NSP), the government’s flagship program to improve living conditions in rural areas.
The NSP gives grants directly to villages which set priorities for development.
After deciding on local priorities, the community used the NSP grant to rehabilitate the road that links the village to the district center.
Life in the village is much easier now thanks to the road, as Mohammad Shah explains.
“NSP projects have created job opportunities and help fight poverty in our village,” he says.
Before the road was built, supplies had to be brought in on the backs of donkeys or carried as head loads. Now, shopkeepers say it’s quicker and cheaper to get supplies. Farmers find it easier to transport grapes, their main produce, to the market in Kabul where they fetch a better price.
Reaching medical facilities has also become easier.
“Thank God our village is now connected to the district center by a road – as a result, we don’t have to worry about how to take an ill villager to the district clinic,” he says.
The experience of shared decision-making has also encouraged the farmers to set up a cooperative to buy fertilizer for at subsidized rates. The cooperative is now recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
As Shah explains, the villagers feel empowered to improve their lives.
“The local authorities too now value any work being done through the CDC and realize its importance.”
Having gained confidence in their ability to plan their village’s development, the council has approached CARE International for funds to build a reservoir and bring piped water to their homes.
They are also negotiating with the Ministry of Public Health to assign a mobile midwife team to visit their village from time to time.
RSS