SIKA-EAST Weekly Program Update: February 1 - 6, 2014

The program aims to promote stability and development in these areas through various initiatives. Training activities were a key focus of the program during the week of February 1-6, 2014. Twenty-one training activities were conducted in 13 districts, attended by 168 participants. The training topics included Resource Dialogue and Advocacy, Infrastructure Project Implementation, and Grants Management. The training sessions were designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement projects and promote stability in their respective districts. Grants and engineering activities were also a significant part of the program during this period. Six grants, with a cumulative value of nearly $195,000, were awarded to projects in Jaji Maydan and Laja Ahmad Khail districts, and two per district in Gurbuz and Khwaja Umari. Additionally, six milestone payments, valued at nearly $33,000, were disbursed to projects in Baraki Barak District. Since the beginning of the project, 127 grants, with a value of over $5.2 million, have been awarded in 15 districts, while 52 projects have been completed. In Ghazni Province, a two-day training session on Infrastructure Project Implementation was conducted for nine men from Khwaja Umari District. Six engineering designs, worth $118,000, were completed during the week for Andar, Dih Yak, Jaghatu, and Qarabagh Districts. Two non-infrastructure grant packages, one each for Qarabagh and Khwaja Umari Districts and together valued at approximately $80,000, were completed. In Khost Province, six training sessions were conducted for a total of 61 men from Khost, including an Infrastructure Project Implementation training session for Tani, Gurbuz, and Jaji Maydan Districts, and Grant Management training for Jaji Maydan. Three new grants – two for Gurbuz and one for Jaji Maydan, cumulatively valued at over $147,000 – were awarded this week. Four engineering designs, valued at approximately $50,000, were completed during the week, including two designs each for Mando Zayi and Jaji Maydan District. In Logar Province, two training sessions were conducted during the week, including a two-day Resource Dialogue and Advocacy ToT for 18 participants in Pul-e Alam, attended by the Governors of the three districts where SIKA-East is being implemented, as well as PRRD representatives, the staff of PG and DG offices, and DoWA employees. One project engineering design, worth nearly $15,000, was completed during the week. Three projects, cumulatively valued at approximately $129,000, were reviewed and approved by a GRC: two for Mohammad Agha District and one for Baraki Barak. In Maydan Wardak Province, Resource Dialogue and Advocacy training was conducted for 19 men and three women from Chaki Wardak, Jalrez, Nirkh, and Maidah Shahr districts. The training aimed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to promote stability and development in their respective districts.