SIKA-EAST Weekly Program Update: February 22 - 27, 2014

The Khost Service Providers Fair, hosted by PRRD and SIKA-East, attracted an average of 640 visitors per day, with 20% female participation. The fair brought together local government, non-governmental, and private sector providers of goods and services to establish and strengthen links between them and the community. Training activities were conducted in 11 districts, with 262 participants attending 16 training sessions. These sessions included Grants Management and Infrastructure Project Implementation trainings. Additionally, 15 Lessons Learned workshops were conducted in nine districts, with 350 participants sharing their ideas and experiences. The workshops also provided an opportunity to identify SIKA-East challenges and achievements. Grants and engineering activities were also reported, with 20 grants awarded in eight districts, totaling over $397,000. To date, 394 grant applications have been received, with 248 approved by USAID. Milestone payments worth over $189,000 were made to projects in 12 districts, and 11 grant applications were reviewed and approved by joint MRRD and SIKA-East Grant Review Committees. Significant provincial activities were reported in Ghazni and Khost provinces. In Ghazni, one Grants Management training session was conducted, and one non-infrastructure grant was awarded. In Khost, a Service Providers Fair was hosted, and nine training sessions were conducted. Sixteen milestone payments were made, and ten grants were awarded, totaling over $220,000. The SIKA-East program is working with District Development Assemblies, District Development Councils, and Community Development Councils to review District Project Portfolios and check the status of all projects listed. This will help give communities a sense of ownership over the portfolios and enable them to report back to citizens on progress. The program is also implementing a voice messaging system to enable district entities to communicate interactively with local communities. The SIKA-East gender team met with USAID and presented elements of the gender mainstreaming plan, highlighting key activities to heighten the gender sensitivity of SIKA-East-facilitated processes and increase the inclusion of women. The plan involves engaging with key stakeholders, collaborating with male and female leaders at the district level, and receiving ongoing input from gender officers at the provincial level. The SIKA-East program is also implementing embroidery training in Baraki Barak District of Logar Province, which will provide local women with income-earning skills. The program has completed several projects, including a school boundary wall project in Baraki Barak District and a karez rehabilitation project in the same district.