Ali Jan lives in the Mendrawol Village of Qarghayi District in Laghman Province. Ali’s village is within the Zone of Influence of a USAID funded road rehabilitation project being implemented by IRD. The IRD Community Outreach and Capacity Building (COCB) Program is an integral component of the SPR-SEA Program and is designed to facilitate dialogue and support community outreach and capacity building at the local, district and provincial levels as well as promote the socioeconomic status of the communities along the SPR-SEA road alignments. To this end, the Community Based Small Grant mechanism was designed as a means to rapidly address immediate community needs and target communities living along this road project. Ali Jan has said his life has changed since the construction began on the road.

Previously, Ali earned a living of Afs 4,000 per month (less than $100) by selling agriculture products. Ali’s twin daughters were unable to attend school because they had to help their mother grow vegetables on their small plot of land.

The SPR-SEA Program awarded a grant to establish five Fish Farm projects in the villages of Mendrawol and Azra in November 2008. The Fish Farm Association of Nangarhar provided training to Ali and the other farmers. “Fish breeding is an industry I can sustain and which provides me with long term income generation to support my family,” according to Ali Jan.

Ali’s Fish Farm has approximately 2,500 fish in the pond. His income has increased to about Afs 10,000 per month from selling his fish. He and his wife work the farm and can earn enough money from a business built on land they own. Ali can now afford to give fish to his children, buy them shoes and clothes and even a bicycle. Most importantly, now his school aged children are all getting an education, including his twin daughters.

An added benefit is that the community can now purchase fresh fish at a reasonable price locally to feed their families. There are 23 households in Ali’s neighborhood.

The Community Based Small Grants Program supports activities that incorporate the community’s use of the newly rehabilitated road and promote community acceptance and ownership.