Transition Initiatives Home » About Transition Initiatives » Country Programs » Focus Areas » Summary of Program Activities » Publications » Staff » Employment » Links » Frequently Asked Questions » Site Map »
	OTI / Afghanistan Home Program Description Country Reports Select a report... June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 Jan/Feb 2002 December 2001 Fact Sheets September 2005 July 2004 March 2004 July 2003 July 2003 Hot Topics April 2005 April 2005 July 2004 June 2004 April 2004 Press Releases Support to Rural Homes and Livelihoods Direct Support to the Government of Afghanistan Support to Media Support to Women Afghanistan Photo Gallery
	Advanced Search... Search USAID Personnel... Search USAID Documents...

USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report

March 2005

Program Description

USAID/OTI is increasing citizen awareness of and confidence in the process of recovery, rehabilitation and democratic political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. This is being accomplished by:

• Increasing the Afghan government's responsiveness to citizens' needs;
• Increasing citizen awareness of and participation in democratic processes; and,
• Increasing the capacity of the Afghan media.

OTI's rapid support for activities in Afghanistan's transition period helps establish credibility and space for longer-term development assistance. Working with central and provincial governments, national and international NGOs, informal community groups and media outlets, OTI identifies and supports critical initiatives that facilitate implementation of the Bonn Agreement, which was designed to move the country further along the continuum from war to peace

The OTI/Afghanistan program started in October 2001 and is scheduled to end in June 2005. OTI is working closely with implementing partners and technical staff from OTI/Washington to ensure an effective close-out and handover of key activities and functions to the mission, other donors, and/or local partners. OTI/Afghanistan's funds have come from various sources, including Transition Initiative Funds (TI), International Disaster Assistance Funds (IDA), Development Assistance Funds (DA) and State Department Economic Support Funds (ESF). Projects are funded in 34 provinces of the country. OTI's current implementing partners are the International Organization for Migration-Afghanistan Transition Initiative (IOM-ATI) and Internews. IOM-ATI offices are located in Kabul, Bamyan, Gardez, Herat, Kandahar, Kunduz, Maimana and Mazar. Previous USAID/OTI partners included the Voice of America (VOA), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Ronco.

Country Situation

With the onset of spring, there has been an increase in violence along the Afghan-Pakistan border between anti-coalition militias (ACMs) and Afghan military/US military forces. The former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar has experienced an acute increase in security incidents.Two bombs were detonated - one targeted World Food Program (WFP) vehicles, resulting in damage to the vehicles, and the second exploded as a UNAMA convoy passed, killing five bystanders and injuring 31. In Kandahar city two rockets were fired; one rocket hit an office and the other damaged a vehicle. Another improvised explosive devise (IED) detonated on a tractor on a road to Zhare Dasht District, killing two passengers. Similar explosions occurred in Khost province. Seven rockets were fired in an open area some seven-eight kilometers from Khost center and IEDs exploded in the city as well. In Kabul, a British national working for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) was shot and mortally wounded in a targeted attack in Kabul. An IED detonated on the Jalalabad Road in Kabul on March 28 as a Canadian diplomatic vehicle was passing, resulting in multiple injuries. An increase in kidnappings also has been reported.

The heavy snowfall in winter was followed by heavy rainfall during March, resulting in serious flooding in many parts of the country. A dam collapsed in Ghazni province, 75 miles southwest of Kabul, and the resulting floods damaged shops and homes in surrounding villages and in areas of the provincial capital. Melting snow combined with heavy seasonal rains has raised water levels in rivers across Afghanistan, resulting in a slew of floods that have damaged homes, businesses and crops. The situation is expected to become increasingly difficult as spring takes hold in the country.

USAID/OTI Highlights

A. Narrative Summary

OTI Builds a Bridge to Connect Communities and Mitigate Conflict –

A team leader inspects a retaining wall project in Bamiyan Province.

Bamiyan Province in central Afghanistan includes the Hazarajat, home to Hazaras and Tajiks. In Kakrag village, Bamiyan Province, OTI in consultation with both Tajik and Hazara communities identified a project to build a much-needed bridge and retaining wall for the village. Prior to this project, there was no bridge to cross the river, forcing people from the Hazara village above Kakrag to cross the farmland belonging to the Tajik villagers with their carts. The continual traffic across the farmland strained relations between the Hazaras and the Tajiks in the area since it was damaging the fields and crops. The bridge has now been built with local labor input, and is ready for hand-over to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) in Bamyan. The community is pleased with the construction of the bridge and retaining wall, which alleviated tensions between two communities in the village of Kakrag. The communities are grateful for the project and recognize the support of the governments of Afghanistan and the United States.

A Successful Project that Wasn't: OTI's Refusal to Build a Retaining Wall Results in Improved Community Relations –

OTI intervention helps competing village community members to reconcile differences.

Villagers in a community in the fertile Shomali Plains, north of Kabul, contacted the MRRD and requested that a retaining wall be built to protect their land from flooding. Identified by the local community and prioritized by MRRD, OTI's implementing partner scheduled a community-government meeting to discuss the proposed project. In the course of the meeting, it was obvious that there was no real need for the retaining wall and that the community wanted to send a message to a neighboring community on the opposite bank of the river. A local commander in that community apparently built a retaining wall without consulting their neighbors. 'They did not come to us for any consultation they just built it and now our fields are becoming more flooded,' a local village elder complained.

Aware that any assistance could potentially exacerbate the conflict between the communities, OTI's implementing partner instead agreed to facilitate a meeting between the communities, the local commander and the provincial government representatives. At this shura, the communities identified a mutually-beneficial resolution and the provincial government representative had an opportunity to hear about both communities' reconstruction priorities. The community engagement efforts of OTI's implementing partner facilitated a more collaborative relationship between the villages and strengthened the relationships between the government representatives and both communities. OTI rejected the original proposal from the community for financial assistance in building a retaining wall and, instead, OTI's implementing partner helped build better community relations and mitigate conflict.

NJTP Journalism Students Celebrate International Women's Day –

Students interview Engineer Zohra Motahar about improving women's education in Logar Province.

This week a group of six journalism students broadcast remotely for nearly four hours from a Women's Day Celebration in Kabul. Using a portable mixer operated by female students, the ceremony was broadcast on the Saday-e Jawan (Youth Voice) campus radios network in Kabul, Mazar and Herat. The technical achievement is a landmark in the development of the USAID-funded Novice Journalism Training Program implemented by Sayara.

The team included three women students and after the broadcast one of these women, Parwin Athar, said it had been a historic day for her. "I was very excited with this professional challenge. I felt I was working as a journalist at the highest level." The Sayara project is rebuilding the infrastructure and curriculum of journalism faculties at six Afghan universities: Kandahar, Khost, Kabul, Mazar, Herat and Jalalabad. The Kabul Women's Day Celebration was attended by President Hamid Karzai, Women's Groups representatives from different provinces, and Cabinet members.

OTI Counterparts Inspire Better Project – Khost Province is a nestled along the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan. Khost has been an historic trade and smuggling route between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Due to low-intensity conflict in much of the province, many organizations have been deterred from working in Khost's largely agricultural communities.

Workers construct retaining wall in Tere Zayi District.

Originally slated to be a retaining wall in the Tere Zayi District in Khost Province, this project was redesigned to benefit more families through the help of OTI's counterparts: the local community and provincial government. Several months ago, representatives of the Irrigation and Public Planning Departments approached OTI's implementing partner about an important project in Tere Zayi district. Routine spring flooding often destroys the farmlands in the village of Haroon Khel impacting household incomes and livelihoods. A 290-meter retaining wall designed to block flooding waters was drafted, approved, and poised for construction.

However, just before the beginning of construction, the shura leaders and government officials contacted OTI's implementing partner with a suggestion for improvement on the project. The suggestion was to reduce the length of the retaining wall as planned, thereby diverting flood waters into nearby fields through a weir intake. The smaller protection walls will divert otherwise dangerous floodwaters to the weir intake, which will irrigate several nearby fields through existing canals. This new irrigation will allow two neighboring communities to cultivate lands that would otherwise lie fallow. Thanks to the community's ingenuity and the program's flexibility, all of Haroon Khel will enjoy fertile fields this spring. With the project nearing completion, even more families are about to benefit from it, strengthening community ownership of the project.

B. Grant Activity Summary

The following is a summary of OTI/Afghanistan cleared activities for the month of March 2005 and since program start-up. In March, 22 grants were closed and nine grants valued at $252,993 were cleared.

C. Indicators of Success

Women gather to celebrate International Women's Day and to hear presentations by the Provincial Governor.

OTI supports International Women's Day in Ten Afghan Provinces – As in many parts of the developing world, International Women's Day holds special significance for the women of Afghanistan. While progress has been made since the fall of the Taliban, many Afghan women continue to endure difficult circumstances within conservative societies. For this year's International Women's Day on March 8, OTI supported events in ten provinces across the country, and over 5,000 women participated in events ranging from speeches by local government officials and female leaders, lunch, songs, poetry and drama on issues such as women in Islam, peace processes and women's rights. Three of provinces in Eastern Afghanistan in which the celebrations took place, Wardak, Logar and Nuristan, are insecure and seen as especially conservative with regards to women's roles and rights.

In Wardak and Logar, the governors spoke about women's rights in Islam and encouraged women to participate in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections. The governor of Wardak stated, "During the Taliban women did not have rights as members of the community, and this is counter to the teachings of Islam. Sisters, come together to work and build Afghanistan."

Women gathered in Pul-e Alam, the provincial capital of Logar, to celebrate March 8. The Governor praised USAID's gender-related projects that have enabled women to meet together, saying "Women's participation in the community is the most successful way to improve society." He continued, "Today is not a special day for women's rights. Women should be given rights all the time."

Radio Helps Save Lives from Natural Disaster-

At Ghazni Bazaar a day after the dam collapse, Radio Ghaznawiyaan journalist interviews a shopkeeper.

Disaster from a recent flood in Ghazni City, caused by a collapsing dam, may have been partially averted because of the work of radio journalists. Early on March 29, the old Sultan Dam in Ghazni River, just upstream from Ghazni City, collapsed. The ensuing flood washed away homes and shops in this ancient town, two hours south of Kabul.

Earlier that morning, one of the Salaam Watandar journalists received a call from the station manger at Radio Ghaznawiyaan in Ghazni, describing the impending collapse. Ghaznawiyaan is one of the network partners that broadcasts Salaam Watandar every morning and evening. The Salaam Watandar team called the governor of Ghazni Province, who issued a statement over the national radio program to the people of Ghazni and surrounding villages.

The governor's statement warning residents to move to higher ground opened the Salaam Watandar daily program before the water broke the dam. The collapse of the Sultan Dam completely destroyed the village of Zamin Kola, but there was no loss of life; local residents had left the village because they were informed by Salaam Watandar and Radio Ghaznawiyaan minutes before. Hundreds of shops in Ghazni Bazaar and nearby houses were also destroyed by the water, with minimal loss of life.

First Lady and Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Meet with USAID/OTI Beneficiaries -

Dr. Dobriansky listens as one of the students of the Oasis Beauty School tells her story.

First Lady Laura Bush and a senior level delegation from Washington, DC, including Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Dr. Paula Dobriansky, and members of the US-Afghan Women's Council paid a visit to Afghanistan to highlight gender issues in the country. USAID/OTI played a vital role in supporting the visit, and the delegation was able to meet with USAID/OTI beneficiaries. The delegation visited some girl's and women's schools at different grade levels, attended the US Afghan Women's Council meeting, met with Afghan judges, the Minister of Women's Affairs, the first female governor, and several USAID-supported programs, among other events and meetings. The First Lady showed her support for the women of Afghanistan when she arrived in country to attend some of the events on March 30. The delegation was well-received at all venues and was impressed with the progress women have been making in a conservative environment. Everyone in the delegation recognized the need to further support women's issues and pledged to continue to press for more assistance and programs to further women's rights and enhance progress.

D. Program Appraisal

In preparation for program close-out, OTI meets with its implementing partners on a weekly basis to discuss the close-out process. OTI continues to hold discussions with other offices within USAID, such as Democracy and Governance (DG) and PRT/Quick Impact Projects (QIP) who will take on existing cooperative agreements as OTI will leave Afghanistan as scheduled in June 2005.

As OTI moves closer toward project close-out, emphasis has been put on repairing projects that have been damaged due to normal wear and tear, severe weather, vandalism, etc. OTI's implementing partner's field offices have been identifying those projects which need repairs and to allocate adequate funds to fix them. OTI is expending significant effort on completing all necessary repairs prior to departure from country, and more amendments will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

The construction work on the Women's Resource Centers that had been halted due to harsh winter weather for all sites except Helmand has resumed this month as all WRC's now have the required land deeds. The Farah WRC was opened in March.

NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

During the month of April 2005, USAID/OTI will:

• Continue working toward program close-out, scheduled for June 2005;
• Continue to monitor and evaluate existing projects;
• Plan for the final program evaluation and gender evaluation.

For further information, please contact:
In Washington: Elizabeth Callender, USAID/OTI/Afghanistan Program Manager, Tel: 202-712-4078, ecallender@usaid.gov