Afghanistan
InitiatorInnen:
RUN FOR GOOD
Myriam Zmbühl (Radioredaktorin DRS 1)
Jennifer Giroux (Sozialwissenschaftlerin, ETH-Mitarbeitende)
Projektdauer: ab September 2009 – ca. Januar 2010
Projektstatus: abgeschlossen
Projektziel: Soziale, gesellschaftliche Unterstützung sowie Ermöglichen und Begleiten von Kleinkrediten an Afghanische Frauen
Projekt „Frauen in Afghanistan (Deutsch)“:
Die gesponsorten Gelder aus dem Event RUN FOR GOOD gehen an das Afghanistan Women Council (AWC), einer gemeinnützigen Organisation in Peshawar, Pakistan. Das AWC führt unter vielen weiteren sozialen Aktivitäten beispielsweise Evaluierungen für Start-Kleinkredite an Afghanische Frauen durch, die gesellschaftlich massgeblich benachteiligt sind aber gute, potentielle Erfolgs-Chancen haben. Das AWC vergibt solche Kredite nach sorgfältiger Prüfung und begleitet die Frauen bei den ersten Schritten der Geschäftstätigkeit. Die Start-Kredite (ca. 300 US) ermöglichen den Frauen und deren Kindern, eine selbsterhaltende Existenzgrundlage zu errichten. Eine detailierte Beschreibung findet sich in der Hauptinfo.
Project „women in Afghanistan (English)“:
The sponsored money goes to the Afghanistan Women Council (AWC),
a Charity Organization founded in Peshawar, Pakistan to support the Afghan Refugees in 1986 by the efforts of a group of Afghan women led by Ms. Fatana Ishaq Gailani. Its aim is to assist Afghan women and children. The AWC Microfinance Program provides amongst a bunch of other social aid direct sponsorship (approx. 300 US) to women to get the necessary support to start a business and take care of their families. You’ll find a more detailed explanation in the main body.
Download: Bio Booklet Women AWC
Hauptinfo/ main body:
AWC is a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit, non-sectarian charity organization. AWC is a community based women’s organization founded by the efforts of a group of Afghan refugee women leading by Ms. Fatana Ishaq Gailani in 1986. It was established in Peshawar, Pakistan to provide emergency and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan refugees specially women and children. AWC was providing widows and the most vulnerable women in the refugee camps with the skills trainings and awareness on human rights, women and children rights, refugee rights, peace building, democracy and health education. Also AWC was providing health facilities and education to the Afghan Refugee children via its MCH clinics and schools and publishing a monthly to reflect the Afghans specially women problems to the international community. AWC was running a mobile clinic and clinic for psychosocial counseling and center of higher education for the Afghan Refugees.
After the power transfer to Mujahedeen In 1992, AWC opened its office in Kabul, and established its MCH clinic of 10 beds for the Afghan mothers in Qala e Fatullah, Kabul, which was functioning as the only women running clinic at the Taliban time.
AWC opened its offices in Kandahar and Jalalabad in 2006 and in Parwan in 2008.
AWC has completed various projects in Kabul, Kandahar, Parwan and Jalalabad and trained more than 2000 in literacy, health education, skills training, and give them awareness of human rights, women and children rights, peace building, psychosocial counseling environment protection, community mobilization, leadership, business, trade and Micro-Finance and then give them loan, who are running their businesses and supporting their families. Also AWC has provided those women with the loan who had skills from before, therefore, in total about 5000 women since 2004 has been provided with loan and now they are running their business and supporting their families.
AWC have board of trustees, management committee, audit of its financial expenses and also have strategy and various policies to run its activities accordingly and publishing its annual reports. Also AWC is the winner of 6 international Awards.
Micro Finance (MF):
Afghanistan women Council is running a successful MF program with the following roles and regulations:
Micro finance is a program which is used to defend the poverty, and it is used in the poor countries such as African and Asian countries.
There are many programs under Micro Finance, such as individual loans, group loans, training and loans, providing beneficiaries a business.
The Micro Finance Program which is being run by AWC is group loan and it is for women.
As mentioned above AWC trains the women for one year in various skills, after graduation they are able to run a business then AWC provide them with the loan.
For starting Micro finance program we follow the below mentioned points:
1. Area selection
2. Individual survey (home to home)
3. Member selection
4. Village organization formation
1.) Area Selection: For the area selection the AWC’s senior staff members with the MF specialist, do RRA survey (Rapid Rural Appraisal) and after that in a meeting decides where to start the MF program (according to the criteria).
2.) Individual survey: This is PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal). In this survey, the AWC staff go to every home, and find out the living condition of every woman and also they find out that the woman who wants to be a member of the Micro Finance program shouldn’t be a member of another Micro Finance organization and should be a resident of that area for the past two years.
3.) Member selection: The women who are the poorest, and need to get loan are selected by Micro Finance Committee of AWC.
4.) Village Organization Formation: After member selection we decide to form a village organization (VO) which contains 30 women.
Village organization (VO) is a group of 30 women who are starting the micro finance program with an organization.
When women are selected for the micro finance program they are all getting together and electing their leader and cashier. The VO members get together once a week in one of the volunteer member’s house for hearing about the organization and the MF program and its roles and regulations. Also they start their compulsory proper recorded saving (in individual pass books), which is going on for 6 weeks.
After accomplishment of compulsory saving the VO members receive first loan of US $ 300. 5 women will get loan per week. Our second and third loan of US $ 400 and US $ 500 will be given to those VO members who returned their loan properly.
AWC Charges 15% admin cost to the VO members, which is used for the administration cost of the MF program and that is paid after the VO members run a business and make money, then they repay the admin cost with their loan return on weekly bases.
This program is going on very successful, with 5000 the most vulnerable women in Kabul, Kandahar, Parwan and Jalalabad without any lost.
Official website of AWC: www.afghanistanwomencouncil.org
