When Afghanistan was still under Taliban rule, CARE began training widows to knit and make brooms – traditional crafts that were allowed by the Taliban.
Over time, CARE has been able to overcome Afghan society’s deep-seated resistance to allowing women to work and has begun training women in other vocations, of which poultry and livestock are the most popular.
Gul Ghamai, a 30-year-old mother of five living in Kabul, recently received a pregnant milk cow through the project. Previously, she could only afford milk for her children every few months.
Now Gul Ghamai has almost two gallons of milk per day to sell to neighbors and give to her children. “My children are healthier now than they have been in a long time,” she reports. “I lost a child to disease and malnutrition two years ago and hope that I will never have to endure that heartbreak again.”
Taking care of the cow is a family endeavor, with older children helping to feed the cow and look after the calf. Gul Ghamai’s 13-year-old son Samiullah collects grass on his way home from school and enjoys taking the cow out to graze in his free time. “When we got the cow I can’t explain how happy I was,” Samiullah says. “It was as if we had a new luxury car.” (adapted from CARE publications)
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Photo Copyright 2006 Sarah Buchanan/CARE
CARE in Afghanistan
