AScribe Newswire | February 5, 2002
HOUSTON, Feb. 5 [AScribe Newswire] -- Once, the north of Afghanistan served as the country's food basket, producing wheat, fruit and nuts until the Taliban put an end to that. Now, Houston-based Millennium Relief & Development Services, through its Uzbekistan partner, has begun distributing wheat seed to farmers as the first stage in a program of agricultural rehabilitation. The Dawlatabad district, north of Mazar-i-Sharif, has been designated by the U.N.'s World Food Program as an area of "acute food insecurity." The Taliban had cut off the water supply to the region because of ethnic tensions between them and minorities living in the region. Three years of drought added to the distress. As a result, the stock of wheat seed has been entirely depleted and many of the region's fruit and nut trees died and were cut down for firewood. One Uzbek-speaking worker from Millennium's partner has already moved from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, opened an office and hired local staff. The district of about 87,000 people has a sizable Uzbek minority, as well as Turkmen, Hazaras and Tajiks. Most of the population makes its living through farming or raising livestock. Surveys and meetings with village leaders are being done in the district villages to determine the biggest needs. In villages already surveyed, water, wheat seed and fertilizer for planting were major immediate concerns. Long-term agricultural needs include improved irrigation methods and water usage, rehabilitation of fruit and almond trees, exploration of other cash crops, seed multiplication programs, and livestock and fodder crops. Millennium's partner has already been distributing flour and non-food items, including blankets and shoes. In addition to agriculture, health, education and micro-enterprise programs in the district are in development. The district has had no education system for more than twenty years and has received no health services from international non-government organizations [NGOs]. Millennium Relief & Development Services is a Houston-based 501[c]3 non-profit whose goal is to bring hope to those in hopeless situations. Millennium supports international disaster relief and long-term programs through a global network of development centers in countries that include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Morocco, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Yemen. CONTACT: Marjorie Fowler, Millennium Relief & Development, 713-961-5645 [day]/ 832-358-9161 [evening]; mfowler@mrds.org Copyright 2002 AScribe Inc.AScribe Newswire:
