To support their efforts, USAID provides a variety of training courses, equipment and small loans to help women start their own businesses and explore new careers. The training choices vary by region and include poultry farming, tailoring, media and agriculture. Some women are going back to work as doctors; others have joined the government. To ensure that women can address the difficult balance between work and home, USAID is building kindergartens that will watch over the children while their mothers work.

In many areas of Afghanistan, women receive dual training: learning to read and write and raising chickens. This will help them support their families and become more involved in their children's learning and their communities progress. The families benefit from the sale of the eggs, resulting in additional income for the household and school supplies for the children.   "With the attention and assistance from the aid community, I am more optimistic of the future for myself and my children. When we returned home, we were shocked by the extent of the devastation and destruction of all that we owned. This chicken program was an unbelievable surprise for me" -- Hafiza, mother of two daughters and two sons, Istalif District. Photo: M. Lueders/USAID

This bakery in a west Kabul neighborhood is back in business, providing women with a reliable income. Twelve women rotate functions in one room, weighing dough, kneading it, rolling it out and shaping it into the long oval flatbreads that Afghans prefer. Despite their hardships, the women are determined to work for a better life: "This is not a time to weep, but to work. If we continue to be sad and depressed, who is going to take care of us and our children? We have responsibilities." Photos: IOM-ATI Staff