Posted By: Erica
In Afghanistan, even when there is the will and the resources, increasing security considerations often make it difficult to impossible to reach civilians caught in conflict. When I was in Gardez a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed an ACAP distribution of tools and materials to support a community construction project for the small village of Shar-e-cott, about an hour away from Gardez City. Shar-e-Cott suffered extensive damage during the US air campaign in 2001, but because of its location and security issues, few aid workers, international or local, have been able to access it. The population of 2,500 has been waiting seven years for some sort of help rebuilding, much less genuine redress.
As mentioned in other blogs, ACAP usually works similar to livelihood-targeted social work – they work with individual families to help them rebuild their lives and find other means of income to get them back on their feet. Given the continuing instability in Shar-e-Cott, that type of work is not possible. Even local staff members would be at risk for kidnappings or reprisals. Instead ACAP has developed a community reconstruction project for Shar-e-Cott that may become a model for ways to reach out to these types of communities. The next blog will share a bit more about this type of project and what it meant for the community of Shar-e-Cott
Photo: Shar-e-Cott.
Filed under: Afghanistan, Erica, Photos | Tagged: Afghanistan, aid, assistance, CIVIC, conflict, development, government, non-profit, nonprofit, peace, War
