Thousands of poor Kunar families provided cash assistance

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled on Thursday provided monetary assistance to destitute families of two districts in eastern Kunar province.

Kunar labour and social affairs director Maulvi Attaullah Noori, who distributed the cash, said 2,566 families had been identified in a survey whose economic condition was bad and their children were malnourished in Noorgul and Khas Kunar districts.

He said besides the cash assistance, the families would also be provided food items in the second phase of the assistance. He said the families would be provided assistance worth 26.4 million afghanis in total.

Deputy minister for labour, social affairs, martyrs and disabled Wasil Noor Momand said the programme to assist poor families was aimed at alleviating the level of poverty. In the first phase, he said, each family was given 4500 afghanis in cash in order to buy healthy food for their children.

He said 39 percent of the country’s populations lived under the poverty line. He said Saudi Arabia had promised paving the ground for 25,000 Afghans to find jobs in the kingdom. He said the youth from Kunar would also be sent to Saudi Arabia.

Kunar governor Wahidullah Kalimzai said Kunar was a mountainous province where arable land was insufficient and therefore most of the residents were poor.

The governor urged the Ministry of Labour to establish a vocational training centre for Kunar youth in order they were imparted professional training.

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