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NEWS & EVENTS
Lack of jobs 'pushes Afghans into Talib hands'
Written by www.quqnoos. com Sunday, 09 November 2008
Jobless refugees turfed out of Iran turn to lives of crime, officials say
RISING unemployment has forced many people living in the south-western province of Nimroz to turn to crime, militancy or drugs for money, officials say.
The mass influx of Afghan refugees booted out of Iran in the past month has also put a strain on infrastructure in the province, authorities in Nimroz say.
About 30,000 illegal Afghan immigrants have been ordered out of Iran since the start of October for not having work permits.
The returnees say they are willing to work in Nirmoz for $2 a day, but they complain that there are no jobs available for them.
The governor of Nimroz, Ghulam Dastagir Azad, said the Iranian government was deporting about 1,000 Afghans every day.
He said most of them do not have the money to go back to their own provinces and so they stay in Nimroz, turning to the Taliban or drug smugglers for cash.
Rising insecurity in the province has also forced investors to leave the region, the governor says.
The last stretch of road linking the provincial capital Zaranj with Iran's southern seaport of Chabahar was completed earlier this year amid hopes that the new transport link would boost trade between the two countries and investment in the region.
Iran's authorities have also said they have started to deport Afghans who have work permits but no passports.
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AFGHANISTAN: Disability deprives children of education
21 Oct 2008 09:20:37 GMT
KABUL, 21 October 2008 (IRIN) - Abdul Latif lost his legs in a landmine explosion in 2002 shortly after starting primary school in Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan. The explosion not only took away his legs but has also deprived him of an education.
"How can I walk all the way to my school? How can I move up the stairs?
How can I play with other boys? Who will take me to the toilet?" he asked IRIN in Kabul.
He only recalls a big bang when, on a sunny day, he stepped on a hidden landmine. Surgeons told Abdul Latif that in order to save his life they had no option but to amputate his legs.
"I was sad but doctors assured me that they would give me artificial legs and that I would be able to walk easily," he said pointing to his prostheses.
In practice, however, he can hardly walk a short distance, even with his crutches. He is permanently dependent on a wheelchair, which he propels with his hands. His prostheses, crutches and wheelchair prove unhelpful, however, when he has to walk up stairs or jump over a gully, he said.
Barriers to education
There are at least 200,000 children in Afghanistan living with permanent disability (physical, sensory and/or mental impairment), according to a
2005 survey by Handicap International - a non-governmental organisation supporting people with disability.
Three decades of conflict have left the country strewn with landmines and other explosive remnants of war which kill and/or maim about 60 people, mostly children, each month, the International Committee of the Red Cross has reported http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EDIS-7KGKMZ?OpenDocument.
Afghanistan has yet to join 134 other states that have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which asks signatory states to ensure that "children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education".
Lack of resources and awareness, and weak political support have, however, contributed to creating a situation whereby schools do not have even minimal facilities for disabled children, officials said.
"About 75 percent of disabled children do not go to school," Parwin Azimi, an expert on children's issues with the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Kabul, told IRIN.
Officials at the Ministry of Education (MoE) said the lack of facilities for disabled children was a major impediment to their education.
"Due to a lack of resources and expertise, our strategy for the promotion of disabled children's education has only remained on paper,"
Azim Karbalaye, planning director of the MoE, told IRIN.
No policies
While the exact number of Afghans living with disability is unclear, Handicap International' s survey estimated there were 800,000 in 2005 - over half of them under 19. Since 2005 the widening conflict and the influx of returnees has probably increased these figures, say experts.
Despite this, the government does not have policies in place to promote employment among people with permanent disability; and has been perceived to have done too little to ensure their rights.
Disability is hard enough to cope with in wealthy countries, but when over half of the population lives on less than US$2 a day as in Afghanistan, things are doubly difficult.
"We feel excluded from society," said Hazrat Gul, a disabled man in Kabul.
"Everything - jobs, education, transport, entertainment - is for the able-bodied… We're only left on the road to beg and survive," he said.
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Raqim Foundation's Vocation Training program up and running in Kabul Orphanage!
Board member Obaid Achekzai arrived in Kabul on Aug 17 2008 and met with Mr. Ahmady, Principal of Kabul Orphanage and went over Raqim Foundation's funding and support of Kabul Orphanage's Auto Cad and Land surveying Vocational Training project. Mr Ahmady was very pleased and on behalf of Kabul Orphanage expressed his happiness and appreciation for this good cause and Raqim Foundation's sincere approach to this project. Mr. Achekzai then installed the AutoCAD program hand delivered the 3 computers and presented to KOC . Due to power deficiency and surge issues, he purchased a power Stabilizer with 5 unit(computer) capacity .
As of September 1st 2008 all classes have been started and are going very well. These classes will go on at least for a year. Upon completion of our first year and reevaluation of students who attended and successfully completed the classes, a select number of students will be assigned to our Survey and AutoCAD training courses. Further more, we have decided to send one oustanding student to Kabul University to be enrolled to a local AutoCAD and Survey private school for upcoming training courses .
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AFGHANISTAN: UN calls for "vital funding" to avert humanitarian crisis
01 Sep 2008 11:21:03 GMT
KABUL, 1 September 2008 (IRIN) - The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says donors must provide "vital funding" to enable aid agencies to avert a possible humanitarian crisis this winter.
UN agencies and the Afghan government on 9 July launched a joint appeal for US$404 million to mitigate the impact of high food prices and drought which have forced over five million people into "high risk" food insecurity, but so far donors have only pledged a small fraction of the requested funds, aid workers said.
"It's vital to see this money comes into Afghanistan… [The funds] will enable us to ensure that current problems do not become a crisis," Dan McNorton, a spokesman for UNAMA, told IRIN in Kabul on 31 August.
The UN call for urgent funding echoes a warning issued by Oxfam International on 30 August about a possible humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
"This is a race against time, the international community needs to respond quickly before winter when conditions deteriorate. The health of one million young children and half a million women is at serious risk due to malnutrition," Oxfam said in a statement.
Oxfam warned that if donors fail to respond quickly and sufficiently "people could be forced to sell assets or leave their homes and villages, and there could be a further deterioration of stability."
The UN said it supported Oxfam's calls for increased and urgent funding.
Women, children at risk
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said five million people, most of them women and children, have been affected by drought and high food prices and are in need of food aid.
"Hundreds of thousands of children under five years of age and their mothers may not be able to meet their nutritional needs, robbing them of future development opportunities," said Susana Rico, WFP country representative.
Aid agencies are concerned that worsening food insecurity may reverse the progress made recently on maternal and infant mortality rates: "Infant, child and maternal mortality rates - already some of the world's highest - could increase even further," Oxfam said.
One in five children dies before his/her fifth birthday due to malnutrition and preventable and curable diseases, according to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF.
Afghanistan suffered one of its worst winters in three decades in 2007 when extremely cold weather, heavy snow, avalanches and lack of access to food and health services took the lives of over 1,000 people, according to statistics from the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority.
Aid agencies say relief supplies must reach vulnerable rural communities before access becomes problematic in winter.
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Raqim Foundation's In-Kind donation to The Children of War
To help protect the orphaned children of Afghanistan from another severe winter, the Raqim Foundation made the following donation to The Children of War (TCOW):
Two boxes of assorted medicines containing 5292 tablets and 92 bottles of syrup/liquid medication.
Mr. Zemar Achikzai, one our generous Board Members, was kind enough to carry these from California to Kabul.
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Shuhada Health Clinic in Badakhshan Has Been Opened
The Raqim Foundation is delighted to announce that according to the Badakhshan Public Health Department,the Shuhada Clinic has been unofficially opened with a doctor, a nurse and a couple of workers. They have also sent some medicines and equipments to meet the initial needs of the population. The opening was received with jubilation by the local public. This is a monumental achievement for those who worked very hard to build the clinic,considering that there is no other health facility within 50 miles. Dr. Jalali, Chairman of the Provincial Public Health Department, informed Mr. Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, the founder of the clinic, that in the first few days, there were between 100 -150 visitors and the clinic quickly ran out of medicine until re-supply was sent.
The official opening is slated for late March, 2008.
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200,000 Afghans hit by severe cold to receive UN assistance
(IRNA) 21 February 2008- United Nations agencies are delivering emergency aid to ease the plight of more than 200,000 Afghans suffering under a harsh Central Asian winter that has already claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is distributing relief items such as tents, blankets, plastic sheets, sleeping mats, lanterns, jerry cans, kitchen sets and soap to recent returnees from Pakistan and Iran, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable people.
Many of the new returnees are experiencing snow for the first time after nearly 30 years in exile.
UN Information Center (UNIC) in Tehran said that the agency has already assisted more than 85,000 Afghans in different parts of the country.
Along with other UN agencies, UNHCR has provided 2,500 families with winter supplies in two IDP settlements in the western province of Herat.
In addition, supplies have been sent to the local officials in Daikundi, Farah, Ghor, Badghis and Nimrooz provinces for further distribution.
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has already distributed nearly 2,500 tons of food to 33,000 households - about 200,000 people - in several provinces, including Herat, Faryab and Jawzjan.
Along with the Government, the Afghan Red Crescent, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and provincial reconstruction teams, the UN has been mobilizing support in more than 50 districts in 13 provinces to help those most affected, said WFP Country Director Rick Corsino.
"What we are trying to do is try to reduce the hardship placed upon households, particularly where damage has been done to their dwellings through avalanches or excessive snowfalls that caused the collapse of buildings," he told a press briefing in Kabul.
The UN is also assisting those unable to move out of their areas due to winter conditions, to reach markets or obtain social services.
Along with the severe cold, many Afghans also have to contend with rising food prices in the country, particularly for staples such as wheat flour. Mr. Corsino noted that there has been an "immediate and very generous" response from donors for the appeal launched last month for more than $80 million to help over 2.5 million Afghans facing food shortages due to the soaring price of wheat.
Some $38 million has been contributed in the past three weeks, he said, adding that this will allow WFP to distribute 50,000 tonnes of food.
Harsh winter conditions have swept across much of Central Asia, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) yesterday appealed for $25 million to help UN relief agencies provide assistance in Tajikistan.
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Raqim Foundation's grant bears fruit
Our $20,000 grant to GPFA, which yielded an additional $46,156 in matching funds from GPFA, has helped to spur economic activity throughout Afghanistan. GPFA has prepared a report for the Raqim Foundation on our grant toward GPFA's fruit orchard/agricultural revitalization project. This project helps women to establish income-generating opportunities in horticulture.
We are please to inform you that this initiative has far exceeded its anticipated results. Rather than helping 88 women farmers, as was originally envisaged, we have helped establish 829 income-generating activities with 783 individual women in 6 districts across 4 provinces; 51 new and 28 revitalized fruit tree orchards have been assisted by this project; family incomes are increasing exponentially each year; 387 home vegetable gardens have also been established; new agro-forestry farm activities are benefitting 344 women farmers; and women are being trained and recruited for various projects. GPFA is currently trying to improve its methods and approaches toward farmer education and training, and also trying to create opportunities for rural youth.
A sign has been placed in each of the four provinces acknowledging the contribution of the Raqim Foundation.
For the complete report see below.
Shipment of goods to Afghanistan
Following up on our three-tiered relief operation of last year, Raqim Foundation, with the tremendous support of International Orphan Care and numerous tireless volunteers in the state of California, has collected between 150,000 - 170,000 pounds of new or slightly used clothing, and 50 sets of PC's and printers. These will be shipped to Afghanistan soon, to be distributed amongst the neediest people, well ahead of the upcoming winter.
Vocational Training project
The Raqim Foundation is currently exploring ways to bring vocational training to remote villages in Afghanistan. If implemented, this skills development project could serve as an engine for growth and prosperity, as it would create life-altering opportunities for many people in the rural hinterlands who don't have access to vocational schools and who lack marketable skills. We are considering a variety of teaching modalities, including instruction via satellite or through dvd's. Our partners in this venture are Master Teachers by Satellite for Afghanistan, and International Orphan Care, two US-based non-profit organizations.
This project is still in its infancy, but we have initiated a dialogue with ATVI, the largest vocational school in Afghanistan, and one of our Board Directors will travel to Afghanistan later this month to pursue a promising skills-building initiative. We'll post the latest developments here.
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2007 Blanket Drive for Central Provinces in Afghanistan, Raqim Foundation launches another blanket drive and distribution to
the neediest people in the region.
Please
click here to view the official letter
Raqim
Foundation’s contribution to Global Partnership for
Afghanistan (“GPFA”) continues to generate returns
for the Afghan widows participating in the Horticultural Business
Development program.
Please click here to view the
report
Raqim
Foundation, in coordination with the Organization for the
Advancement of Afghan Women (NY) and the Masjid e Mahajareen
(CA), initiated a blanket drive for the people of Bamyan Province,
purchasing 2000 blankets in Kabul and transporting them to
Bamyan in trucks. Subsequently, Raqim Foundation received
a letter from the provincial government of Bamyan.
Please
click here to view the report
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