KABUL-  In a remote, rugged province in eastern Afghanistan, the raging waters from the surrounding mountains have often flooded the 8,000 homes that line the local river’s path. The river regularly ravaged the only means of income many of the community members had – their crops of wheat, corn, alfalfa and clover. But since Haji Abdu Rehman was locally elected as the District Development Assembly (DDA) chairman that has all changed.

In 2004, following his dream for peace and local development, Mr. Rehman, a former insurgent, became the chairman of the United Nations-backed National Area-Based Development Programme’s (NABDP) District Development Assembly in the capital of the insecure province. The DDA, recognizing the community’s need, built a protection wall along the river’s edge, saving thousands of jiribs of fields (five jiribs of land is equivalent to one hectare) and protecting 64,000 people from flooding.

The NABDP – a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development – works to help strengthen local development throughout rural Afghanistan by establishing DDAs in these areas. According to UNDP, DDAs have been vitally important in providing communities with a voice, allowing them to play a role in decision-making that directly impacts their lives.

Since 2002, NABDP has focused on reducing poverty and improving livelihoods in rural areas across Afghanistan by promoting local governance, such as DDAs, and productive rural infrastructure, such as construction of protection walls, to promote long-term development.

In order to best help their community develop, Mr. Rehman and other DDA members have participated in the NABDP’s capacity development trainings that focus on good governance practices, project planning, gender equality and conflict resolution. To date, 334 out of 388 DDAs across Afghanistan have received training.

The DDAs are then able to effectively promote local participation in the selection process of key projects such as protection walls. Community buy-in and participation help to promote peace, stability and ultimately development throughout the community, UNDP notes, adding. It is an approach that has been particularly effective in several insecure provinces such as Mr. Rehman’s.

However, the 52-year-old has not always stood up for peace. In 1979, after the Soviet army invaded his remote Pashto community, they arrested his father. The then-19-year-old wasted no time in taking up arms and joining the mujahideen.

"I will never forget the day that the regime arrested and jailed him for no reason," Mr. Rehman said about his father's capture during Soviet occupation. "From that very day, I joined the mujahideen groups to fight against the invading regime.” But after several long years, Mr. Rehman realized that "Fighting never brought any positive change to my life. I wanted my children to have a brighter future."

But problems in advancing education for children have been a challenge for Mr. Rehman.

”When I first became the DDA Chairman, insurgents sent warning letters to our schools demanding closures, threatening to kill teachers and destroy the schools if they remained open," he said. "We immediately contacted the Taliban commander. After lengthy discussions, the commander agreed to order his men not to attack teachers and schools.”

After this experience, Mr. Rehman and other assembly members formed shuras – an Arabic word for 'council' – to work with the local community, government members and tribal leaders to encourage children to attend school and to protect schools from further threats. DDA members have been able to establish a dialogue with Taliban members to ensure that the schools remain open, and the teachers and students safe.
 

Women's education is also high on Mr. Rehman’s and the DDA's agenda. As a father of eight, he has ensured that all his sons and daughters have had access to education.

“Fifty per cent of the community is improved when girls receive an education because 50 per cent of the community is controlled by women,” he noted. According to him, when women are educated, they raise their children to be educated and productive members of the society.

While about 15,000 girls now attend school in Mr. Rehman's province – which includes four high schools for girls and one co-ed university in addition to a co-ed training academy for teachers, as well as English and computer classes – illiterate women are not left behind. The DDA helps women without education start small business ventures, such as poultry farming and carpet weaving, to help care for their families.

UNDP notes that thanks to the NABDP programme and training, DDAs are able to encourage communities to work together for development. For Mr. Rehman, peace and stability are now at the core of his beliefs.

"Continuing to take up arms will not bring positive change,” he said. “War brings only misfortune, poverty and darkness."