Zahra is a 40-year-old woman living in Boghavi Uzbakia village in Sar-e-Pul province, Afghanistan. She lives with her family in a village with limited access to basic necessities. Zahra joined the EKRe program under the initiative “Support Food Insecure Women and their Families through Agriculture Value Chains in Sar-e-Pul Province, Afghanistan,” implemented by the Hand in Hand Afghanistan Organization (HIHAO).
Zahra shares her experience: “Before joining this project, I was hopeless, and my living conditions were dire. My husband is ill, and I was working in neighboring houses as a daily wage laborer, earning very little income. It was difficult to cover my family expenses and afford the treatment of my husband. Fortunately, one of the HIHAO employees visited my house, provided information about the EKRe project, and enrolled me in this project through a survey. Initially, I thought this was just a survey and was skeptical about whether I would be selected. After a while, I was informed that I had been selected as one of the beneficiaries of this program, and that was a great moment in my life.”
Zahra’s family was in poor economic condition, but everything changed when she was selected for this program. Since joining, she has received training in beekeeping, safeguarding, group management, agri-business, micro-finance, and kitchen gardening, which has increased her skills and knowledge. Additionally, Zahra actively attends self-help group (SHG) meetings and saving regularly. Currently, Zahra has saved enough within her group and is eligible to take loans from SHGs.
HIHAO staff briefed her on several types of enterprises included in the program. Zahra was particularly interested in the beekeeping enterprise, as it had always been her desire. Fortunately, HIHAO donated two colonies of beehives along with beekeeping equipment. Moreover, HIHAO staff provided both theoretical and practical beekeeping training. With the coaching of HIHAO trainers, Zahra was able to regenerate four more beehive colonies.
Zahra added, “In the first phase, with the support of HIHAO trainers, I extracted 9 kg of high-quality honey, which increased my interest in beekeeping. I witnessed how excited my children were on the day of honey extraction.” Furthermore, honey has a good market in Sar-e-Pul province, where I can sell each kilogram of honey for between 1,000 and 1,200 AFN. Through this income, I can properly cover my family expenses and afford my husband’s treatment. Also, this microenterprise improved my life situation; thus, I have decided to expand the beekeeping enterprise and increase the number of colonies in the future.”
In the end, Zahra expressed her gratitude to the Hand in Hand Afghanistan Organization, which, through such a valuable and interesting program, improved her family’s living conditions. She wishes for similar opportunities for other women whose living conditions are poor.
