January 2016—Sheer Mohammad had been looking for a job for a long time. But he didn’t have any skills, so he felt forced to cultivate illegal crops and work in poppy fields in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to support his family.

To address challenges faced by Afghans such as Mohammad, USAID’s Kandahar Food Zone Progam designed and ran vocational training programs to build new skills, increase job opportunities, and promote a legal economy.

Mohammad participated in masonry vocational training in Panjwayi from September to November 2014. The training sessions were conducted in three target districts—Panjwayi, Zhari and Maiwand—in Kandahar province. The program trained 90 people—30 from each district.

Now Mohammad serves as his village’s mason, and he can afford to pay for his family’s food, health care and education.

“I had nothing to help them years ago, and I was in a deep depression,” says Mohammad. “But now I am able to support my family in every aspect.” He was also able to build his own home and garden rather than rely on Pakistani laborers.

Mohammad is making about 500-600 Afghanis ($7-$8) a day and providing masonry jobs for four to five people in his village.

“The lack of employment often motivates youth to commit criminal activities such as cultivating illict crops and insurgency acts,” he says. “If they are provided with vocational training, it will change their direction and will empower our youth.”

Kandahar Food Zone Program interventions are designed to support alternatives to poppy cultivation. More than 800 people have benefited from alternative livelihood activities during the three-year, $27.7 million program, which began in July 2013.

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