By: Erica
Today I accompanied the team that works on the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program (ACAP) to one of their field offices in a province near Kabul. The local staff here are extremely dedicated to the project but often overwhelmed by the challenges of operating in such a difficult environment. They cover not just their own province but two adjacent provinces — a vast chunk of territory with parts of it cut off by impassable, snow-covered cliffs or no-go zones. For example, there is one community where the entire village was devastated by international military operations in 2002, but the security situation in the surrounding area is so bad that no relief agency has been able to get to them to provide the necessary assistance. The ACAP program is currently working with provincial governors and local community leaders to change that, but with only a few staff members and limited resources, getting help to this one village has proved daunting.
Image courtesy of CIVIC

Author: Kate Raley

Kate Raley is the Communications Officer at Center for Civilians in Conflict. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) where she holds a MA in International Relations and International Economics.