17 FEBRUARY 2007 | KAMA DISTRICT, NANGAHAR PROVINCE

 

USAID’s Alternative Livelihoods Program for Eastern Afghanistan (ALP/E) is supporting the establishment and strengthening of women-owned enterprises in several fields of economic activity, providing training and assistance in all sorts of trades, including commercial poultry operations, vegetable seedling enterprises, forestry nurseries and agro-processing.  ALP/E is also promoting the participation of vulnerable women in the labor force, by providing them with new ways to earn a living.

 

Zarghuna is a 25 year-old mother of five children from Kama district, Nangarhar province.  Her husband is mentally ill and currently he is not able to work.  Zarghuna and her family returned to Afghanistan from Peshawar, Pakistan after ten years living as refugees.  She was the sole provider of her family in Pakistan, and continues to fulfill that role today.  Zarghuna’s initial attempts to secure a job were unsuccessful, prompting her to join the Nangarhar labor association, who introduced her to ALP/E’s Gender and Micro-enterprise program.  After some initial hesitation due to a traditional notion of her role, Zarghuna applied for employment as a laborer at ALP/E’s Jalalabad Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market rehabilitation project. 

 

Collaboration with the Infrastructure team has led to the participation of 400 women as female cooks as daily wage earners for Cash for Work projects.  Zarghuna is one of the first women to work directly on infrastructure projects.  Along with other women she is making reinforcing materials for the market.