USAID’s funding of this project includes wages. As a mason, Agha receives $3.80 per day. Laborers receive about $2.25 to $3 per day, and already the dam project has generated nearly 25,000 person-days of labor for the community. In three and a half months, Agha has earned roughly $300, almost double the per-capita GDP for Afghanistan. With the cash-for-work program, USAID has continuously met the unique needs of Afghans building for their own futures.

Agha works regularly, 7am to 4:30pm, as do the other men in his village. The numbers —not to mention immediate and sustainable benefits to local farmer — are astounding with over 24,000 person-days so far.

On the worksite, Agha joins the men as they swing picks down at the river bed, while others slam huge hammers against boulders to create foundation rock, and the rest dig sharp spades into the wet and rocky soil or carry silt and rock from the riverbed on stretchers or in metal pails. He does not mind the tiring work because he knows his family at home has food and his children are back in school.

In fact, a brief survey of the site and its employees indicates that many are area farmers — working to invest time and energy into sustainable irrigation. They give effort and sweat for wages, and with the pay they can support families and help sick relatives. Probably most important, the project has enabled the men to regain dignity through work.

Print-friendly version of this page (263kb - PDF)