Cash-for-Work Project Provides Renewed Hope in Laghman Province

Mohammad, 45, Laghman Province

“I hope for my children to become leaders who support the community, for my family to have a well-equipped house, and for my village to have a market for business to support my family and others in need.”

Mohammad, 45, is a resident of a small village in the Laghman province, where he is employed by Uplift and one of our local Afghan partner organizations, Community Driven Development Organization (CDDO), in a Cash-for-Work project dedicated to rehabilitating an irrigation canal and constructing a super passage and water divider. The completed project will increase agricultural production in Mohammad’s community, helping make their community more sustainable and less dependent on outside support. 

Mohammad says that work was hard to come by before the project came to his village. 

“We could only find 1 to 2 days of work a month, which is [essentially] equal to none, and trust me, there are people who have nothing to eat and sleep in hunger often. Unemployment is a big challenge. It makes you vulnerable and drags you into debt just to buy food. We were in a very bad condition before this project and had nothing to eat, but this project brought a lot of happiness.”

Like most fathers, Mohammad wants to see his children succeed. Growing up, he dreamed of becoming an engineer and attended school until 12th grade but was limited by poverty. With the income from this project, he has been able to pay the school fees for his younger daughters and son to attend school.

He also hopes for his eldest daughter and wife to fulfill their goals of becoming midwives to help the community since maternal mortality rates are high in their village, but poverty and the ban on female education beyond 6th grade have proven to be significant obstacles in this pursuit. 

Despite these hardships, Mohammad remains positive that the completion of this Cash-for-Work project and the continued creation of sustainable jobs can help build a stronger and more self-sufficient community.

For more information on how to support Cash-for-Work projects and keep providing jobs to parents like Mohammad, visit upliftafghanistan.org/give.