Annual Report - Global Partnership for Afghanistan

3
From the Chair and Co-Founder
L
IkE MANy who vISITED Afghanistan in the 1970s, my enduring memories are of the stalwart,
generous, hard-working people and the rolling hills layered with fruit and nut trees and forests.
Imagine my delight as I report that, thanks to the tireless efforts and deep commitment of GPFA
staff and Global Partners, 10,000 families across 10 provinces are now reviving their devastated, war-torn
villages with nurseries, orchards, vineyards and woodlots. Through 2008, GPFA farmers planted 4 million
trees, yielding sustainable incomes in more than 300 villages.
But our success—your success as GPFA Global Partners—is measured not by statistics but by the return
to hope, stability and productivity for farmers like hamida. A fiesty orchard owner from Paktya, hamida
radically pruned and fertilized her ailing 200-tree orchard with help from Sakina, a GPFA extensionist. The
result: $4,000 in income in one year alone to support her family of sixteen. If she and her neighbors are
able to secure one of GPFA’s underground fruit storage units, she will be able to further boost her profits.
None of this progress would have been possible without the generous support of our Global Partners,
including a growing number of government, institutional and private donors. Funding from the US
Department of State/USAID and the Department of Defense, foreign governments, the European Union
and the world Bank, has helped us expand and enhance our programs significantly. our membership in
the Clinton Global Initiative has enabled us to raise our profile internationally and attract crucial support
from donors such as the Casten Family Foundation and Janet ketcham. on the ground, international
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs) increasingly look
to GPFA to provide the connections and support to local communities that are critical for their rural
development initiatives.
GPFA’s investments in human capital are equipping Afghan men and women with the skills, support and
resources they need to secure their livelihoods and stabilize their country. with your ongoing support,
GPFA can continue to help farmers expand and improve tree-based enterprises that will sustain families
and increase incomes for years to come.
Annual Report 2008 Global Partnership for Afghanistan
Dana H. Freyer
Chair and Co-Founder