Afghanistan is located in Southern Asia, north of Pakistan. Virtually all Afghans are Muslims. About 90% of the people live in rural communities. The estimated annual growth rate of 14.47% is offset by an infant mortality rate of 152.8 deaths per 1000 live births. 1 million children in Afghanistan are orphans, about 1/2 million children are disabled, and 350,000 are amputees due to land mine accidents. There are an estimated 6-7 million unexploded land mines still buried in the ground. Each day about 10-12 people become victims of these land mines. Effective medical care and public health services are limited to the cities. During the Soviet occupation, education in rural areas was devastated by war. Government schools and teachers were principal targets of anti-soviet resistance.

Helping Hand has the following ongoing projects in Afghanistan.

Education Program
We sponsor two programs of immediate urgency for primary level education and adults:
* Printing of 33 titles in Dari and Pushtun for Afghan school children upto 6th grade.
* Literacy classes to enable skilled workers to read blueprints as well as assembly / repair / maintenance manuals.

Orphan Sponsorship Program

To sponsor 100 orphans from various districts, we anticipate a need for $30,000.00 based on $30 per child per month per calendar year. With Allah's blessing and your help, we can increase the number of orphans we support each year.

Water Supply Program
We are sponsoring the digging of wells and installation of pumps for drinking water and performance of ablutions in five different areas surrounding the city of Kabul. The cost per well is $5,000.00

Skills Development
We have established training program to train the skilled labor force in the district of Azra in Logar province. Specific classes include:
* Carpentry and masonry for building new structures and rebuilding those damaged by war.
* Manufacture and repair of agricultural equipment.

With Helping Hand we reach out to the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the parentless of Afghanistan. It is a noble project but nothing can be accomplished with wishes and good intentions alone. Won't you please extend your helping hand now! We know you will recognize the worthiness of the projects Helping Hand has established in Afghanistan.