“I was Deeply Concerned about Feeding my Children on Cold Winter Nights”

Based on a decision made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the #Citizens_Charter_National_Priority_Program of the #Ministry_of_Rural_Rehabilitation_and_Development (MRRD/CCNPP) was assigned to proceed with the implementation of #Dastarkhwan_e_Meli_Program in the rural areas of country. As other parts of the country, the residents of #Alasang village in #Hesa_e_Awal_Behsud district of #Maidan_Wardak province have also received relief assistance to somehow help contribute effectively and speedily to their recovery from economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic recently.

Miss Masoma 46 is one of the residents who is currently living in Alasang village. She has three daughters. Given that she has lost his husband due to civil strife over the past years, she is obliged to support her family by herself. While expressing her pleasure over the receipt of food assistance under Dastarkhwan-e-Meli Program, she said: “We are very happy with these relief packages because I was so concerned about feeding my children during these cold nights. Our problems have doubled since the onset of winter as we had to take essential measures such as provision of warm clothes, firewood, and other necessary items beforehand. God knows how much I needed this kind of assistance. Thanks to Dastarkhwan-e-Meli – we were provided with relief packages in such difficult conditions.”

Muhammad Amin, another villager revealed: “Most often, we buy the food items during winter on credit from shops. We pay off our loans with the help of money we earn from farming and performing arduous activities during spring season. To be honest and frank, none of the shopkeepers are interested in selling their commodities on credit these days. The relief packages we received under Dastarkhwan-e-Meli will help us survive the cold nights and days of winter for a desirable period of time.”

As of February 02, 2021, more than 357 thousand households in 2,703 communities of 115 districts in 34 provinces of Afghanistan have received relief packages totaling more than 1.45 billion Afghanis.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in negative economic impacts on the lives of people, especially the poor & daily wage-earners. The Government of Afghanistan has initiated a relief response program – called Dastarkhwan-e Meli – that would be implemented in cities and villages. Dastakhwan-e Meli program is planned to be implemented in two phases.

The first phase of Dastarkhwan-e-Meli Program worth USD 86 million has already been launched in nearly 13 thousand communities related to 123 districts across all 34 provinces of the country under the coverage of the MRRD/CCNPP. As planned and set out, 1.67 million households in the rural areas will receive relief packages, valued at AFN 4,000 per household.

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