AFGHANISTAN A home of their own

 Afghanistan  Economic Development  20th Sep 2010

By Kieran Green, CARE International

Nafas Gul appears on the rocky path leading to her home. On her head she totes a bale of hay almost as big as she is - feed for her cow. Having fed the animal, she walks home.

The house is not much to look at. A single room built of mud bricks. The windows are empty wood frames – no glass panes. The carpet on the floor is dirty and second hand. The important thing, however, is that no one else owns this home. It belongs to Nafas Gul alone, thanks to that cow in the yard.

Nafas Gul is a widow. Years ago two of her sons were killed in one day during one of the many conflicts to afflict Afghanistan. The grief caused her husband to become ill and, eventually, die. Nafas Gul was left to look after her five daughters and one remaining son. She had no home of her own, and was forced to live with relatives. More importantly, she had no means to support her family.

She was found by CARE surveyors, who got her registered for regular food rations. After a few years she was graduated to a CARE cash-for-work program making quilts. Then one day CARE came back to her community and offered a new opportunity: a chance to receive livestock and the training to raise and earn an income from them. Nafas Gul said yes.

First she received a small flock of chickens. With the income she received selling the eggs and young birds, she was able to send her children to school. Still, however, she had to keep living with her relatives. Then in 2009 CARE gave her the opportunity to expand her livestock. This time she chose to receive a cow.

With the milk and milk products, the cow brought in a higher income than the chickens – as much as 200-250 Afghanis a day. It was enough for her to save up and finally build herself a house of her own. Again, CARE was there to help out, supplying some of the materials for her new home.

Today Nafas Gul’s cow is pregnant. When the calf comes, if it is male she will sell it and if it is female she will keep it to expand her herd, producing more milk and increasing her income even more. Already she has also bought herself two lambs which she is fattening up to sell come the winter.

What is she saving the money for? Nafas Gul is a baker. When she has earned enough, she will add a small bakery to her home and start producing bread.

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