Zahra, 29 years old is living with her husband, her two daughters and two sons in in Wali Aser village of Marzar-Sharif, Balkh province. Her husband works in a shop and Zahra was always a housewife only. She joined Hand in Hand Afghanistan’s Households Adopt Sustainable Economic Livelihoods (HASEL) project in December 2019. She received a series of training including Business Development services and basic financial management, but she has not started her microenterprise yet. Zahra has heard about the coronavirus on TV and in her SHG, she learnt much more about it from HiH Af field trainer. She says, “The current crisis of Coronavirus has brought a series of vast changes in our life, one is the economic failure of weak families like us and the other is the fear, health worries and also mental concerns caused by this situation. It changed the way we live; we cannot go out easily”. Due to the quarantines, Zahra’s husband lost his job and he does not go out to get his daily wage to buy food for his children as before. He was earning little money every day to buy food for his family, thus he was not able to provide health facilities like hand wash liquid and other hygiene products.
She adds, “We received enough information about the coronavirus, hygiene and ways to prevent this disease and prevent its transmission, protect ourselves from this dangerous and deadly disease to stay safe from our trainer”.
She mentioned, “Fortunately Hand in Hand Af as a proactive organization provided us soaps for hand washing, facemask, gloves and chlorine liquid and also thought us how to use them. The awareness and health tips which I learned from the field worker of HiH Af is very helpful. I wash my children’s hand with soap frequently and use disinfection on the most touchable surfaces at home. Thanks to HiH Af team for all the services which helped me feel safe and decreased our concerns”.
