by UNV Afghanistan

19 January 2006

Kabul, Afghanistan: "After a year working as Programme Assistant in Sudan I started monitoring projects and seeing firsthand the impact the program was having on the lives of the poorest people. In Sudan there had been drought and civil strife for more than ten years. Ensuring the delivery of food aid to starving and displaced populations and the establishment of the Food for Work program made a huge difference in people’slive".

After four years in Sudan, Armando moved to Tanzania, where he was involved in Emergency Operations with Rwandan refugees. He was responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of food aid to Rwandan refugees living in camps in Ngara, which is located between the border of Rwanda and Tanzania. Most of the refugees belonged to the Hutu tribe, and had fled Rwanda following the ethnic conflict which had killed so many of their people.

Armando is now completing a two-year assignment in Afghanistan with WFP, based at Bamyan Sub-Office. He monitors a variety of WFP projects being implemented by NGOs and other UN agencies. The Food-for-Work projects provide food stuffs in exchange for work that will improve the infrastructure of a community. This includes road construction, road rehabilitation and maintenance, snow-clearing projects that will ensure communications during the winter months, school construction, cleaning of kareez and reforestation.

Additionally, there are projects that aim to improve enrolment levels for children and literacy classes for women: the School Feeding Project and the Food for Teachers Salary Supplement. "These projects are extremely important to improve the lives and future opportunities of Afghan people. Unless children get an education their prospects for the future are very bleak, but it is difficult sometimes for them to attend school. Providing them with food stuffs really improves their chances of getting an education. Equally, the Food-for-Teachers projects are essential to ensure that lessons are held. The salaries received by teachers are so low that they cannot afford to go to work unless they receive the food supplements provided by WFP."

One of the main difficulties of working in Afghanistan, in addition to security concerns, is the dangerous roads and passes, particularly in winter. "You have to be very careful before field visits and always be well prepared, in case of any eventuality. The roads are dangerous, you might get stuck because of an accident or heavy snow, and you might be prevented from reaching your destination or returning to base. This could be fatal in the winter months".

Despite the difficulties Armando is happy to be a UN Volunteer and considers his work an opportunity. "Knowing that I am contributing to improve the lives of the needy people in a country is of great personal and professional satisfaction for me. In many cases people are able to see the problems they are facing, but they cannot think of a solution. Many people are traumatized by their past experiences, often caused by tribal and ethnic rivalries. They have had terrible experiences and some people seem to be stopped in time, unable to move forward. In all my assignments I strive to change this, to encourage them to work and hope for the future".

Armando has been involved in community development in his own country where he opened a community pre-school with the assistance of the local government. The school offers high quality teaching at minimum school fees, and is an extraordinary asset for parents with a low income to provide their children with quality education from an early age. "The school is doing very well in its fourth year since opening, parents and community leaders are very happy. My next project will be to establish a cooperative which will benefit the women in our community".