Support for war widows, micro-business programme, support for schools
Project in numbers
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Project Summary
Even before the American-led military campaign against the Taliban, Afghanistan was one of the world’s most impoverished and war-ravaged countries. More than 20 years of military conflict and three years of drought has devastated much of the Central Asian country. The population faced a dire future – even the most basic services, such as health and education were no longer provided for the public.
Furthermore, in the mid-90s the country was led by the Taliban, which imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law upon the population. They excluded women from the workplace and, in most cases, prohibited girls from attending school. The regime contributed to an increase in poverty and inequality for women and children. In addition, many widows of the 2001 war had no means of providing for their families because the regime had made them rely completely on their husbands for income.
AMURT supported post-war widows with basic living materials, for instance, distributing food packages and soap to over 10,000 widows. Thereafter, we embarked upon a micro-business programme that was based on a training tailoring course offered to 75 widows. In order to help these women, we distributed 62 sewing machines, six embroidery machines with sewing tables and four overlock machines with sewing tables. With this as - sistance, the women were able to start their own small businesses and earn their own money, which they used to support their families.
In 2001, AMURT also intervened to alleviate the suffering of children. In cooperation with CARE Interna - tional, we supported approximately 6,000 schoolchildren with school materials and sports facilities.
Project Partners
CARE International
Foundation “Life for All” Switzerland
Foundation “Life for All” Germany
Project Duration
Impressions
