Kabul: A City on the Move

Anita Anastacio heads up the Mercy Corps office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mercy Corps is helping to reconstruct houses and create economic opportunities for the city's residents. Photo: Mercy Corps

Going about her daily business in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, Anita Anastacio sees a city that is far different than the one she first encountered five years ago.

"The general mood has changed. The interaction between men and women is freer. People are going out more. Afghans are going to restaurants. People are learning to trust one another," she said.

But she is quick to add, "There is still a lot that needs to be done."

Anastacio heads up Mercy Corps' program office in Kabul. The office opened in January and is now staffed by two expatriates and about 50 Afghans - both women and men. She is leading a group that is implementing relief and development projects across the city and coordinating with the ever-increasing number of international agencies working in the city.

According to Anastacio, Kabul is a city that is "booming" with reconstruction projects that are repairing the damage caused by more than two decades of conflict. By her estimate there are 50,000 homes in the area that are in need of repairs. Housing has become a premium as record numbers of refugees return to Afghanistan after living for years in neighboring countries.

"People have gotten used to living in the big cities in Pakistan so many don't want to return to the rural villages where there are less opportunities. We will continue to see more people coming into the cities and we will have to find ways for the cities to absorb them," she said.

Anastacio said that Mercy Corps is providing basic housing materials such as wood and steel to assist 900 families in Kabul repair their traditional two-room mud homes.

The changing nature of Kabul and the increased freedoms for its citizens, especially women, has also led to a great need for vocational and jobs trainings that give individuals the tools to create economic opportunities for themselves. Anastacio said that a project to construct a women's skills training center is nearly finished. The center has received attention because it was built by women, an idea that would have been unheard of a year ago.

"We had men work side-by-side with the women to train them. In the beginning it was difficult for the men to understand that they were there to train and not to build, but they caught on quickly. As it turned out the women were quite skillful, especially with carpentry. They made their own windows and doors. There is great potential," Anastacio said.

The center will be used to help women create business opportunities for themselves beyond the traditional handicraft activities that are often viewed as the only way for Afghan women to earn a living.

Anastacio said that the women are also eager to use their newly learned construction skills to repair a damaged school that is next to the women's center.

"Women want to be part of the labor force. Construction work is good because they can work behind closed walls. There are women knocking on the door to be involved with what we are doing there," she said.

Anastacio said that Mercy Corps is also working with other international agencies to prepare Kabul's residents for the difficult winter months ahead. She said that plans are underway for a cash-for-work program that will provide returnees who are living in open spaces with immediate employment and money to help them survive through the winter.

"The winters are harsh but somehow the people have been able to survive. We want to make it easier for those who are out in the open to earn an income so they can get what they need," she said.