BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 27, 2008) -- The Kapisa and Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team civil affairs leader visited a few local villages in the Kohe Safi District and met with Community Development Council representatives, June 24.
 
The CDC, a body of elected villagers, is given special training to learn how to allocate funds and pick projects that are needed in each village.
 
Projects are funded through the National Solidarity Program, which works through the Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development.

“The outreach that was involved in this mission was to get to meet some of the CDCs from nine of the targeted villages in the Kohe Safi District,” said Army Capt. Steve H. Kaiser, Kapisa’s and Parwan’s PRT CA leader. “With the information gathered we will start a Quick Impact Project.”

The idea behind the QIP is they calculate how many families are in a village, which gives them a set amount of money per family. This determines the amount of the grant per project.

This helps with reaching out to more villagers, which gives capability to build cultural enhancements, said Kaiser.
 
“Being able to meet some of these CDCs for the first time, and get their names and pictures was a real break through,” said Kaiser. “These villages are important because we do not want them to become a safe haven for the enemy.”

The ability to interact with villagers creates a sense of morale for villagers and builds trust. Working with the CDCs also lets us get a personal level with the villages, Kaiser said.

“Civil affairs is 50 percent of the Counter conflict,” said Kaiser. “We want [Afghans] to know that we are here to help, not be part of the problem.”