Afghanistan Projects

Training Refugees and Widows in Kabul

Refugee skill training Project
Global Partners Afghanistan offered two courses to men and boys living in refugee camps in Kabul: beginning welding and beginning carpentry. Both courses had twelve students and lasted six months. During the course several students excelled in their learning and were able to obtain jobs with their new skills. The others finished the courses and were given certificates as well as a basic tool kit from their class. Each student received a food allowance during the course to benefit their family as they learned their new skill. Nineteen students graduated and now sixteen have work to support their family. The two classes worked together to build school desks as part of their graduation project. The desks were delivered to a very needy school outside of Kabul. The students took great pride in presenting the new desks to the school and showing off their workmanship. The students from the school were also very grateful that they now are using desks rather than sitting on the floor.

Sewing project in villages surrounding Kabul
In 2010, sixty women were enrolled in the Global Partners sewing project in villages surrounding Kabul. Each woman received training in sewing as well as literacy classes. A monthly food stipend was also given to each woman for her family. The ages in the class range from 14 to 55 years of age. All of the women are looking for a means of support for their families. Many of the women are widows or have been abandoned, leaving them responsible for a family of 4 to 10. Small tailoring shops operated by these women partnering together are being opened in Kabul and in the villages surrounding the city.

Facts About Afghanistan

  • Area: 652,230 sq. km.
  • Borders: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • Arable Land: 12.13%
  • Natural Hazards: Earthquakes, droughts, flooding
  • Population: 29,835,392 (July 2011 est.)
  • Urban Population: 23% of total population (2010)
  • Infant Mortality Rate: 149.2 deaths / 1,000 live births (#2 in world)
  • Life Expectancy at Birth: 45.02 years
  • Literacy (age 15+ can read and write): 28.1% (Male: 43.1%; Female: 12.6%)
  • GDP - per capita (PPP): $900 USD (2010 est.)

More About Afghanistan:

The population of Afghanistan is about thirty million. Pashtuns are the predominant ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising forty-two percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include the Tajiks (twenty-seven percent), Hazaras (nine percent), Uzbeks (nine percent) and other minority groups such as the Aimak, Turkmen and Baluch. Dari is the official language of the government. However, many other languages are spoken in Afghanistan, including Pashtu, Hazaragi, Uzbek, and Turkmen. Religiously, Afghanistan is over ninety-nine percent Muslim, with an estimated eighty percent Sunni Muslims and an estimated nineteen percent Shiite Muslims.

Read a brief history of Afghanistan

Today, Global Partners works alongside the United Nations and many other international NGOs to provide essential development and support. Afghanistan's infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and water sanitation, is in poor condition. Medical care is lacking, especially in rural areas. This results in a national life expectancy of only forty-five years, the second highest infant mortality rate in the world, and the highest rate of maternal mortality. Furthermore, the educational system is struggling to recover after decades of war; less than thirty percent of men are literate and only about thirteen percent of women. Cultivation of poppies also remains a significant concern, as Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium. Although there has been a great deal of reconstruction in the past ten years, much, much more is needed in order to alleviate poverty, provide adequate health care, create economic opportunities, and educate the next generation.