WOMEN'S INCOME GENERATION

Context:

Two decades of war in Afghanistan as well a severe drought and other natural disasters have destroyed the basic economic foundation of Afghan society. Food, housing, healthcare, employment and education are scarce.

In a population of 20 million people, six million are living in famine-like conditions, four million are refugees, and more than 1.2 million are displaced within Afghanistan. More than 25 percent of all Afghan children die before they reach age 5 and there are over 4,000 young widows in Kabul.

LWR's Partner in Afghanistan:

LWR's partner, Church World Service (CWS) has been working in central Asia for 48 years. During the first six months of the current crisis, CWS focused its efforts on immediate relief assistance for displaced persons in Afghanistan and refugees in Pakistan. These relief efforts included the distribution of shelter kits to 9,000 families and more than 6,000 food parcels.

With support from LWR, CWS also implemented a quilt-making project in a refugee camp in Pakistan. More than 400 refugee women are participating in this project in which they have made more than 50,000 quilts for distribution while earning income for their families. This project is the model for the Afghanistan-based women’s income project.

Anticipated Results:

CWS will support women’s income generation in Kabul and assist local hospitals and clinics over a period of six months by:

Employing 1,600 widows and other women to make quilts for six months to help support their families.


Distributing a total of 153,600 quilts produced by these women over the 6-month period to hospitals and clinics in Afghanistan.


Providing a safety net and a support system for the 1,600 women and their families.

YOU CAN HELP

LWR has supported this and other relief and rehabilitation efforts to people in Afghanistan and Central Asia through generous contributions from individuals, congregations and corporations.

At this time we are no longer accepting additional contributions for this project, but please consider making an unrestricted contribution to LWR so that we can respond as quickly to other emergencies.

To contribute, you may also call 1-800-LWR-LWR2, or mail a check or money order to:

Lutheran World Relief
PO Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832

Please also consider making an unrestricted donation which will enable LWR to respond where there is greatest need.