Stability in Key Areas (SIKA) - West Weekly Report July 12-July 19, 2012

The program aims to increase stability and pave the way for transition in the western provinces of Herat, Farah, Badghis, and Ghor. The program's primary focus is on improving governance and the delivery of services at the local level. Key activities include the implementation of the District Stabilization Committee (DSC) in Bala Baluk district, the development of a Service Provider Catalogue (SPC) for Bala Baluk district, and the provision of training and capacity-building programs for government officials and community members. The program also focuses on improving communication between the provincial and district-level government, district development assemblies, community development councils, and citizens. The SIKA-West program has made significant progress in the past week. The SIKA-West COP accompanied by the IR 3 and IR 4 visited Farah Province to meet with the head of the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD) and the Provincial Stabilization Team (PST) to discuss augmenting the District Stabilization Committee in Bala Baluk and capacity-building needs of the DRRD. IR 3 conducted a successful two-day communications skills-building workshop for 20 provincial government officials in Farah Province. The program has also made progress in collecting information for district profiles and service provider catalogues. The USAID Office of the Inspector General (OIG) gave a presentation to all SIKA-West staff on its rules and regulations. The SIKA-West operations staff attended an overview presentation of all SIKA-West programming activities on July 17th. The program has also made significant progress in recruitment. A CBD representative traveled to Farah Province to prepare for the inaugural communications training hosted by the PST. The program has also made progress in monitoring and evaluation, with members of the M&E Herat team giving an introduction to M&E and indicators to the PST in Farah Province on July 17th. The SIKA-West program has a total of 76 national employees, with 27 females and 49 males. The program has also made progress in operations, with the SIKA-West operations staff attending an overview presentation of all SIKA-West programming activities on July 17th. The program has also made progress in gender and capacity building, with a CBD official giving a presentation on "Good Leadership" to the Farah PST on July 15th. The program has also made progress in monitoring and evaluation, with members of the M&E Herat team giving an introduction to M&E and indicators to the PST in Farah Province on July 17th. The SIKA-West program has a total of 54 employees in the Herat office, 9 employees in the Farah office, and 7 employees in the Badghis office. The program has also made progress in recruitment, with 22 females and 32 males hired to date. The program has also made progress in operations, with the SIKA-West operations staff attending an overview presentation of all SIKA-West programming activities on July 17th. The program has also made progress in monitoring and evaluation, with members of the M&E Herat team giving an introduction to M&E and indicators to the PST in Farah Province on July 17th. The SIKA-West program has a total of 54 employees in the Herat office, 9 employees in the Farah office, and 7 employees in the Badghis office. The program has also made progress in recruitment, with 22 females and 32 males hired to date. The program has also made progress in operations, with the SIKA-West operations staff attending an overview presentation of all SIKA-West programming activities on July 17th.