Stability in Key Areas (SIKA) – East Weekly Program Update: April 26 – May 1, 2014

The program is active in several provinces, including Ghazni, Khost, Logar, and Paktya. During the week of April 26 – May 1, 2014, the program conducted various activities to achieve its objectives. Training sessions were held in 12 districts, with a total of 261 men and five women participating in 25 training sessions. The training covered topics such as Infrastructure Project Implementation, Grants Management, Fundraising, and Lobbying. Additionally, preparations were made for a Stakeholder Engagement Training of Trainers (ToT), which will be conducted in Kabul to prepare DSWs and SIKA-East staff to facilitate the Stakeholder Engagement process in new districts. The program also facilitated a second gender coordination roundtable on April 27, which brought together representatives from the IDLG Gender Unit, MRRD's NABDP and National Rural Access Program (NRAP) Gender Units, Ministry of Women's Affairs' (MoWA) Gender and Capacity Building section, and UNDP's Economic Empowerment Unit and Gender Equality Project. The roundtable discussed cooperation to strengthen outreach to women and exploration of available gender training resources. District profiles were completed for Ahmad Abad (Paktya), Jaghatu (Ghazni), and Mando Zayi (Khost) during the week. These profiles provide relevant information on a district's resources, population, and other particulars, serving as a reference tool for project staff and other development practitioners. The program also made progress in increasing government engagement, with a large contingent of provincial and district officials visiting the sites of two protection wall projects in Mando Zayi District. This marks the third week of increased engagement of provincial authorities in the implementation of SIKA-East activities. Grants were awarded for small infrastructure projects in Ahmad Abad and Laja Ahmad Khail Districts in Paktya Province and for Khoshi District in Logar. Seven grants projects were completed during the week, with a cumulative value of nearly $144,000. Female DDA+ Action Summits were held in Ghazni, Khost, Logar, and Paktya Provinces, with a total of 291 women and men attending the events. The Summits aimed to strengthen coordination between the DDA+s of the districts where SIKA-East is active, and participants shared their opinions on district issues, analyzed priorities, and assessed progress in addressing constituent demands. The program also revised the Scope of Work (SoW) for district information centers after failing to receive bids for the project in Maydan Wardak, Logar, and Khost. The streamlined SoW will be re-published next week. Capacity building activities were also conducted during the week, with a focus on training and capacity development for project staff and other stakeholders. The program continues to work towards its objectives of promoting stability in key areas of Afghanistan and increasing government engagement in the implementation of its activities.