| New Goals, New Challenges Facing a fragile peace and a society torn apart by war, the UN Refugee Agency, has much still to do in Afghanistan. The agency's main focus in 2010 is the voluntary return and reintegration of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons back to their home country.
In 2008, some 278,500 former Afghan refugees returned to their country, by far the largest voluntary refugee return movement anywhere in the world at that time. Please help UNHCR rebuild lives in Afghanistan. But the journey home is just the beginning. Once inside Afghanistan, families face the daunting prospect of having to rebuild not just their lives, but also their country's future. Shelter and clean water are significant concerns for returning refugee families. In addition, over the past five years, more than 9,000 water points were completed under UNHCR’s water program in high or potential return areas as well as those hit by drought, benefiting and estimated 1.4 million Afghans.  Many refugees are facing other reintegration difficulties, including a lack of land, and basic services such as health care and education. Job opportunities are also scarce. More than 28,000 returnees this year are living in five spontaneous settlements in eastern Afghanistan, unable to return to their place of origin due to insecurity, landlessness, tribal conflicts, personal enmity or lack of livelihood possibilities. UNHCR is trying to conduct confidence-building measures to promote peaceful inter-ethnic co-existence, in order to establish an end to ethnically-targeted violence. Training workshops focused on promoting gender awareness are another essential aspect of UNHCR's protection of Afghan refugees. USA for UNHCR calls on the entire international community to support humanitarian relief efforts in Afghanistan. Help us rebuild refugee lives.
Giving Back Afghan in U.S. works to help those he left behind
Mr. Wardak’s $100,000 grant will enable programs in Afghanistan’s central and eastern regions specifically. These programs are designed to be self-sustaining, provide business and marketing training, and require beneficiaries to recruit other women in an effort to expand the initiatives. There are identified industries in each region, such as clothing production and beekeeping, which have proven successful in helping vulnerable women increase their income and feed their families.
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