About Us

Vision

The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan is an indigenous, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that envisions a peaceful, drug free, democratic, developed and prosperous Afghanistan.

Mission

To advance the spread of democratic principles, development, social justice, human rights and freedom in Afghanistan as well as to strengthen communities and local governance by promoting effective community and institutional development practices and drug control initiatives.

Geographic Coverage

WADAN works throughout all regions of Afghanistan in remote districts and provinces. WADAN targets all 34 provinces of Afghanistan from Nangarhar to Herat, from Kandahar to Mazar, from Kunduz to Paktia, from Kabul to Bamyan.

WADAN works directly with citizens within communities, building capacity and engendering a sense of ownership, making the programs sustainable and creating awareness regarding our infant democracy.

Donors

WADAN has received repeated funding for its initiatives from the Embassy of Great Britain (direct and some through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Foreign Aid or GTZ), the Embassy of Japan, the Department for International Development (DFID) through the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of Helmand, the Save the Children - Sweden/Norway, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), U.S Department of State through the Colombo Plan, Counterpart International Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society (IPAC-S), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Associates in Rural Development (ARD), the Ministry of Counter Narcotics of Afghanistan, United Nations Agencies and Voice For Humanity (VFH).

Awareness and Civic Education

Communities that were shattered physically and psychologically and people who have suffered from decades of warfare, repression, lawlessness, and poverty have a great need for conflict resolution, democracy and peace building. Since 2002, WADAN's mobile training teams have been engaged in imparting civic education workshops and training to several thousand community leaders in rural communities throughout Afghanistan. This grassroots approach is very popular, well received and effective as the methodology and training approaches take into consideration local tradition, culture and values.

Messages delivered by WADAN encourage citizens to be responsible for themselves, their communities sand their country. Transparent governance, national unity, democracy and respect for human rights are the primary objectives of these civic education projects.

Women and women's concerns have been considered in all of WADAN's community projects. Civic education workshops for men have specific emphasis on gender and women's rights as well as human right sin general. Civic education workshop for women have the same content as those for men. Civic education events have been well-attended by women in Helmand, Zabul and Kandahar provinces. A pre-presidential election awareness event drew hundreds of women in Kabul and a pre-parliamentary election event with information for potential candidates was as well attended.

The Voice for Humanity Project was to distribute a part of around 20,000 ZVOX players with civic education messages in Pushto and Dari, developed in consultation with WADAN to people in remote rural areas before the presidential election. In addition to messages about the positive effects of cooperation with the government and message to promote both economic and political rehabilitation, there were messages abut health and hygiene as well as music and motivational entertainment to reinforce the material presented.

As a result of WADAN's civic education projects, voter turnout for presidential elections increased in areas where WADAN's civic education events were held. Of particular attention is the interest of women who participated in the presidential election in rural villages and districts where such actions were, until recently, considered taboo.
Rural life in the world's largest producer of opium is problematic for poverty stricken farmers with few other cash crop options. The detrimental effects of poppy growing, drug trafficking, and drug addiction are explained. People are made aware that involvement in a narcotics culture is illegal, socially irresponsible and profane behavior.

Community Empowerment

The Community Empowerment & Reintegration Project was designed to empower communities to participate in the rehabilitation of their own villages and districts.

The main objectives were to improve the livelihood of their respective constituencies and to advocate for the rights of children to have access to education. Involving communities in working for their own solutions served to encourage not only sustainability of the project but also utilized the skills needed to strive for national unity.

In the Community Empowerment & Reintegration Project in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces, women's shuras (community governance groups) focused on gender equity and women's rights. During an advocacy events, one participant said, "Today is a positive, historical turning point for Afghan women…"On the local level, women have started to speak out to help solve community problems. They stress tolerance, compromise and respect. They smooth problems between villagers as well as mediating domestic disputes.

Community Based Schools

Education suffered during the years of warfare and misguided government. In many areas a generation grew up without any schooling. This is a problem that persists despite the emphasis and efforts to educate children at government schools. Community based non formal schools serving about 2,600 students have been organized by WADAN and community leaders in eastern Afghanistan. Primary education is provided to children in both girls' and boys' schools. Teachers come from the communities and WADAN trains them in current methodology and educational philosophy.

Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation

Drug addiction is a problem in Afghanistan. Until recently, drug addicts were treated as criminals, some repressive regimes jailed them, families shunned them, and little was done toward treatment and rehabilitation. In an effort to alleviate misery and strengthen communities, WADAN opened Afghanistan's first residential therapeutic drug treatment center. The Bahar Therapeutic Drug Treatment Center is located in Gardez, in Paktia province. Addicts are admitted for a month of closely regulated treatment and rehabilitation. Family counseling is also provided. Aftercare and social reintegration are important aspects of the program. Based on the successful Gardez model, WADAN opened two more drug treatment and rehabilitation centers in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. WADAN recently opened another treatment center for drug addicts in Wardak province. The treatment centers have both residential and outreach community -based and home-based programs for drug addicts.

The centers are also involved in the creation of awareness regarding the harmful consequences of illicit drugs. WADAN runs a drop in center in Logar and an outreach drop in center in Ghazni, and implemented several drug awareness projects in parts of Afghanistan by training more then 15,000 local leaders about the harmful consequences of drugs, extremism and social evils. The drop in centers serves addicts, potential addicts, their families and the general public. Addicts are offered motivational counseling. Likewise, WADAN has also been running a counter-narcotics public information campaign project in Helmand province with objectives to provide home- based and community-based anti-narcotic education, present and reinforce the teaching of Islam regarding the illicit and profane substances, advocate the development of an operational community network to reinforce and proliferate the anti-narcotic messages that will lead to greater awareness regarding social evils, and to involve the community leaders in drug control initiatives that will influence their constituents to cooperate with all national and international drug control organizations.

WADAN is actively working in Afghanistan to counter the detrimental effects of poppy growing, drug processing, drug trafficking, and drug addiction by demonstrating to both urban and rural citizens whose involvement in a narcotics culture is illegal, socially irresponsible and profane behavior. WADAN strengthens communities and local governance by promoting drug control initiatives through these drug treatment centers and drug awareness programs at the grassroots level including initiatives in schools, community centers, mosques, shuras, and with community leaders.



Updated on: August 14, 2007