2009 marks DACAAR's 25th proud year of service to the Afghan people. It all began one day in January 1984, when a small group of Afghan refugee women gathered in a house in the city of Peshawar in North-western Pakistan to start DACAAR's first ever project: a sewing centre aimed at generating income for destitute refugee women and their families. Soon after, DACAAR began addressing other urgent needs in the Afghan refugee camps, foremost by providing access to clean and safe water.

A second landmark in DACAAR's history came in 1989 when its field teams undertook surveys of Afghanistan's arid, mountainous regions, in order to extract safe drinking water for communities caught up in a devastating civil war. In the following two decades, activities were expanded to include infrastructure, agriculture, education and women’s empowerment, with projects reaching out to rural families in 27 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The 40,000 water points established by DACAAR across Afghanistan have secured access to safe drinking water for more than seven million people. In addition, through active participation in DACAAR’s rural development projects, thousands of Afghan households have achieved sustainable livelihoods.   

DACAAR’s long list of achievements has only been possible thanks to the hard work and sacrifices by the organisation’s employees and field workers, who have selflessly served and in some cases laid down their lives in the line of duty. Their contributions shall never be forgotten.

While Afghanistan has made some progress in recent years, it sadly remains a conflict-ridden country with a lasting need for sustainable development and safe water supply. To help alleviate these needs will continue to constitute a top priority for DACAAR, whose destiny has always been closely intertwined with that of the Afghan people. DACAAR will thus continue to serve Afghans as long as needed.

Dr Arif Qaraeen
Director