Community Development
Latest Community Development Project News
Afghanistan is an extremely poor landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and raising livestock. During two decades of war, one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak total of more than 6 million refugees. For the Afghans who decided to stay, as well as those that have returned to their country, it is a huge struggle to survive. The local community is generally the only stable social structure left in this torn country. SERVE is developing projects to work with communities and assists them in addressing their needs.
In each of the regions where we work the focal point which encompasses all the other projects is the community development project.
SERVE's Activities:
- Providing one and a half year old cows (heifers) to poor and vulnerable families
- Improving the local dairy cattle breed by natural and artificial insemination
- Reading, writing, mathematics and basic health teaching to adults
- Disaster mitigation training
- Leadership training
- Income generation activities and vocational skills teaching
Cow Keeping Programme
From the beginning of the project process the whole community is involved as they survey and select one family who will receive the cow to take care of. The families that are chosen are usually the poorest of the community; they are widows, orphans or the disabled. Even though the cows are given to specific families, the whole community is willing to help because they all feel responsible in raising the cows. After giving back one calf to the project, the family then owns the cow. The milk of the cow is a means of income generation and it helps to develop the potential of dairy farming and improve the life of the people. The calf that is returned to the project, is then given to another family when it matures. In this way, not only single families but whole communities profit from this project!
It's incredible what difference one cow can make for a poor widow. A widow with three young children, without a husband who can raise an income for the family and without permission to work as a woman, it's almost impossible to live and survive in Afghanistan. One day our project team visited the village of a certain widow and started to talk with the community leaders about helping the poor families. The community decided that this woman and her children were the most needy and they received the cow. Today, the family has an income from the milk and cheese that they sell at the local bazaar!