Drought Response Program
Drought Response Project (DRP) for drought-affected communities was a disaster response project which would have supported over 1,200 vulnerable families in the districts of Behsood I, Behsood II, Diamirdad, and Panjab. The primary thrust of the project was to mitigate future drought related problems through the construction of water basins, kareezes, canals and wells. This project funded by CWS and implemented by CCA.
This project was started on 16th April 2007 and ended in on 30th June 2008. All activities focused on communities’ drought alleviation. Efforts were directed towards strengthening of water resources to make income of resource for disaster stricken households. The main objectives of this project are providing: 1) free livestock, 2) small food for work project, and 3) free food distribution. Targeted households included derelicts, female headed and unattended who were affected by drought. Households benefited from food aid of project included 1000 families. 211 families benefited from free livestock. But projects beneficiaries were encompassed more than 1000 households.
Due to the prolonged drought there were people that had many immediate concerns such as feeding their families during winter so the project had a component that distributed food aid to those most affected by the most recent drought. Also there were many households lacking resource of income.
For that major gap of communities, project was partly designed to address that problem.
Hazarajat is a mountainous region with harsh winters and people must collect enough food and other requirements to pass the long winters. Life in Hazarajat is difficult and the past few years have proved particularly difficult as the inhabitants have been facing a serious food shortage. The lack of food was further exacerbated by natural and manmade disasters that have dealt devastating blows to the communities. The multiple droughts over the years (one of the worst being in 2005) along with Taliban raids have severely reduced people’s ability to make a living. Two decades of war has resulted in the emergence of bereaved families, widows, and their children. From the beginning people in Hazarajat started suggesting that we focus on helping them develop animal husbandry skills as livestock is one of the most important parts of Afghan rural life and agriculture.