1) District-based Veterinarian Programs – We taught construction techniques and maintenance procedures while constructing veterinarian clinics. The program lasted four years (1990 – 1994) and the project was active in Kabul, Kapisa, Kunar, Logar, Nangarhar and Parwan Provinces. The funding source(s) was UNDP / OPS. Approximately 2 million people benefited from this work.

2) Fighting Tuberculosis (Anti-TB Association of Switzerland) We built and operated a TB hospital. We used Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) and nutritional supplements to fight malnutrition and make TB treatment effective. The hospital was destroyed by fighting. (1990-1993)

3) Narcotics Awareness Programs – We worked within communities to raise awareness of the dangers of illicit drug use and cultivation. This two-year program (1990-1992) was funded by UNDP, and benefited nearly 1.2 Million people in Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar Provinces. The program was not merely educational. It provided direct aid to help people leave the drug economy by building small roads and bridges, repairing government buildings, constructing flood control structures and clearing landmines. As with all flood control projects, the work had the additional benefit of creating more arable land, reducing the need of those owning very small plots to grow opium.

3) Flood Control and Electrification: This UNDP-sponsored project helped 2,500 families harness hydropower to electrify their villages and power grinding mills. It also helped to rehabilitate traditional irrigation systems. The project was active in Kunar, Nangarhar and Kapisa provinces from 1993 until 1994.

4) Kareze Cleaning and Construction: Karezes are an inventive way to deliver water from mountainous areas to farmland below. Essentially a tunnel, the job of traversing the tunnel while removing accumulated sand and debris is among the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan. This program assisted 900 families rehabilitate the karezes that allowed them to grow crops. (1992 – 1993, Nangarhar Province)

5) Emergency Response: In response to an emergency, CRAA worked with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to distribute tent materials to 1,500 families during the winter of 1993-1994.

6) Repatriation Services: CRAA worked with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide comprehensive services aimed at helping Afghans return home after living in refugee camps in Pakistan. This large project included education and direct assistance for re-building homes that had been destroyed by war. The project provided direct food aid and farming tools to 5,000 families in Kunar, Kapisa, Nangarhar and Laghman Provinces. (1992 – 1994)

7) Agricultural: From 1990 to 1996, CRAA worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Care International to introduce improved varieties of wheat and maize seed to Afghanistan. This work involved “technical assistance” and included a “Grow and Give” component whereby those who received the improved seed would provide another family with seed after harvest the following year. 4,200 families in Nangarhar, Kabul, Laghman and Kunar Provinces participated in the program.

8) CRAA implemented a program that was essentially the same as #7 in other areas within Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Kabul Provinces. The FAO and ISRA funded this work. (1990 – 1996)

9) Poultry Farming Project. From 1990 to 1991, CRAA worked with 2000 families to teach them how to raise and care for Fayoumi chickens (an imported variety that is particularly well suited for harsh conditions). It should be noted that the educational component of this program is needed. Traditional approaches to poultry cultivation are inefficient and fail to capture the many benefits that poultry can provide. The program targeted women who were about to return to their homes in Afghanistan after living many years in refugee camps. Training sessions also included education about child nutrition, marketing surplus eggs, and how to build a chicken coup.

10) Irrigation/Flood Control (1990 – 1996) UNDP/OPS sponsored CRAA in aiding wheat farmers through the construction of flood control structures that protected farmers from all-too-frequent loss of their crops. As with most other projects, the beneficiaries worked along side, providing the necessary construction labor. Additionally, seed was provided on a Grow and Give basis. Approximately 1 million people in Nangarhar Province benefited from this work.

11) Workshop on Clinical Diagnosis of Pregnancy in Cattle. The UNDP funded this important workshop that was attended by more than 100 experienced Veterinarians. (Nangarhar Province, 1992)

12) Orchard Development / Promotion / Infrastructure Rehabilitation (1992 – 1994 / FAO). Fruit trees, orchard tools, vegetable seeds and education were provided to villagers who provided labor to repair canals, schools, small roads, flood control structures and buildings damaged by war. 3000 families in Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman Provinces

13) Reconstruction of a Middle School at Patang, Kunar Province (1993-1994, UNDCP) The work also included the addition of a water well.

14) Reconstruction of a High Schools in Narang District, Kunar Province (1993-1994, UNDCP) The work also included the addition of a water wells.

15) Illegal Crop Eradication through Community Development (1993-1994). The UNDP funded this well-designed program to address the multi-faceted needs of farmers attempting to stop cultivating poppies in favor of legal crops. While assistance to these farmers may sound strange, it is generally the very poor farmers who own small plots of land who take up opium cultivation. This is because they cannot support their families by raising crops that sell for low prices during the harvest season. Unfortunately, this program was cancelled after only three months when the funding agency deemed the project area too dangerous for further work. (Nangarhar Province)

16) Narcotics Awareness and Alternatives (1993-1994 / The United Nations International Drug Control Programme - UNDCP) 1.5 million people in Kandahar and Helmand Provinces were touched by this project which involved building roads and bridges, community centers, and other public institutions. A Seed distribution component included a Grow and Give component for sustainability. Agricultural education helped farmers move toward legal high-value crops.

17) Outpatient Workshop and Physiotherapy Services (1994-1996) This project was funded by the Shahzada Foundation. The Shahzada Foundation is a private foundation representing the family led by our CRAA Executive Director, Dr. Sana Ul Haq Ahmadzai, and dedicated to the memory of his late father and mother. This project targeted the severely disabled in Afghan refugee camps located in Pakistan.

18) Construction and Maintenance of the Dara Middle School in Nangarhar Province. (Originally funded by CARITAS of Salerno, Italy in 1994) The Shahzada Foundation will continue to provide for all expenses, including teacher salaries and school supplies until the Government of Afghanistan can assume responsibility.

19) Fayoumi Poultry Project for Physically Challenged Women. The American non-profit organization, Heifer Project International (HPI) from Little Rock, Arkansas helped CRAA provide starter flocks and training for handicapped women living in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp outside Peshawar, Pakistan. More than 1000 families benefited. (1995-1996) HPI programs are known for the “Passing on the Gift” component that multiplies the effectiveness of the original work and which is very effective in helping neighbors join together to battle malnutrition, and extreme poverty and the inevitable result of these factors: high infant mortality rates.

20) Food Preservation Training. A CRAA-HPI project centered upon income generation for displaced women through training in food preservation (Milk, Fruit & Vegetables). This included training in producing value added products. (Nangarhar and Kabul Provinces, 1996-1997)

21) Poultry Distribution and Training to Widows & the Wives of the Disabled (Nangarhar and Kabul Provinces, 1996-1998) Our second project that was sponsored by Heifer Project International was essentially the same as that described in #18.

22) Microcredit and Vocational Training for Widows, Disabled Persons and Orphans (Kabul and Nangarhar Provinces, 1996-1998) This project was sponsored by the Shahzada Foundation and ARCON. It included a revolving credit component to support “Make and Give” programs that are a CRAA innovation.

23) Training and Distribution of Poultry to Women (HPI, Shahzada Foundation, Individual donors, 1996-1998) This project was similar to other HPI programs that include education regarding the basics of caring for farm animals, nutrition and the marketing of surplus production. CRAA helps beneficiaries by assuring that animals are properly vaccinated prior to distribution as well at appropriate intervals thereafter. As flocks and herds grow, veterinary services are provided on a sustainable basis by Village-Level Veterinarians that we train and equip. (Chaparhar District, Nangarhar Province)

24) Artificial Insemination in Services in Kabul and Jalalabad. (CRAA-HPI) This project involved the construction of a laboratory and collection plant that is used to systematically improve various positive traits such as milk production. (1998-1999)

25) Child Adoption programme in Afghan Refugee Camps CARITAS of Salerno, Italy helped CRAA build shelter and provide for the daily needs and education of very needy children. (1998-2001)

26) Integrated Poultry & Community Health Project. (HPI, Shahzada Foundation, CRAA) This project trained women to Raise Poultry to improve family nutrition and generate cash. It included a human de-worming component, employment of women doctors and provision of health services. (2000-2001)

27) Outpatient Clinic. Continuation of project #21 with the addition of an outpatient clinic for the de-worming of women & children at our compound in Chaparhar, Nangarhar Province. The clinic remains open. (2000-2001)

28) Traditional Livestock and Reforestation for Healthy Communities (Kabul and Nangarhar Provinces, 1998-2002) This was a large and multi-faceted project implemented by CRAA with financial and technical support from HPI. It taught beneficiaries to practice sustainable agricultural methods and derive maximum benefit from livestock was central to the work. This project included a “Pass on the Gift” component to ensure sustainability. Passing the Gift is a distinctive aspect of HPI projects. It is very well suited to Afghan society and it continues to reap unexpected dividends such as fostering good relations between villages.