Stability in Key Areas (SIKA) – East Weekly Program Update

In Ghazni Province, the Shahed Zulmai high school repair project was completed, and construction began on the Godul Qandahari culvert project in Khwaja Umari District. The district profile of Muqur in Ghazni Province was finalized and shared with USAID. Training sessions were conducted in 17 districts, with a total of 722 individuals, including 615 men and 107 women, participating in 30 sessions. The training covered topics such as Governance Foundation, Operation and Maintenance, Infrastructure Project Implementation, Grants Management, Unity Building, and Stakeholder Orientation. Additionally, a two-day training course in photojournalism and video editing was conducted for staff from the Provincial Governor's Office, the Department of Women's Affairs, and the District Governor's Offices in Paktya Province. Grants and engineering activities also progressed, with one grant award valued at over $86,000 made for a project in Jaji Maydan District of Paktya Province. Eight grants received vetting approval from USAID, and 14 milestone payments were made to projects in eight districts. Twelve grant applications were reviewed and approved by joint MRRD and SIKA-East Grant Review Committees, and five engineering designs were completed for seven districts. The SIKA-East program has made significant progress in women's outreach and engagement, with women's participation growing in stakeholder survey lists and at SIKA-East launches. Almost 40 to 64 women have been involved in initial activities in each of the six new districts, and women's participation in the Muqur Stakeholder and Governance Foundation workshop showed high enthusiasm towards their families, communities, and society. In the area of women's economic empowerment, the SIKA-East gender team held meetings with Zardozi representatives to discuss possible cooperation and collaboration on site visits to their Community Based Centers (CBC) in Kabul. This will help women members of provincial DDA+s learn new ways to assist their communities' women and build small businesses. The SIKA-East program has also made progress in capacity building, with a focus on enhancing the capacity of governmental staff and entities in technical areas such as photojournalism and video editing. The program has awarded grants to 22 districts, including Garda Serai Sub-district of Zadran District in Paktya, and has received and approved grant applications valued at over $18.5 million. In Ghazni Province, the district profile of Muqur was finalized, and the Shahed Zulmai school repair project was completed. A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the stonemasonry flood protection wall being built by the Qala-e Baghar CDC in Jalrez District of Maydan Wardak. Female members of the Ahmad Abad DDA+ performed group work during a resource coordination meeting organized by PRRD and SIKA-East in Gardez, Paktya.