STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Close to 15,000 people are benefiting from the reconstruction of a main road connecting 26 villages in Khost Province.
The reconstruction was undertaken by the Afghanistan Rural Access Project, which aims to benefit rural communities by improving access to basic services and facilities through all-weather roads.
The gravel all-weather road has brought multiple benefits to villagers, including reducing commuting time and transport costs by half.
TANI DISTRICT, Khost Province– With a bright orange vest over his grey clothes, Raz Mohammad is visible from a distance as he shovels gravel onto the road and levels it. He is responsible for maintaining two kilometers of the six-kilometer Patlan main road in Ali Jee village in Tani district, Khost Province.
“I work to maintain the road,” he says. “I am very happy and my financial situation has gotten much better after I got this job here.” Mohammad earns 250 afghanis (about $3.60) a day. It helps him support his family, he says.
Mohammad has been maintaining the road for the past year and a half, after the main road was reconstructed by the Afghanistan Rural Access Project (ARAP), which hired him and two others to maintain two-kilometer stretches from their villages. Each of them was selected after consultation with the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and villagers.
"The road was not graveled before, but now it is and people can move around with ease."
Nabi Khan
head, Community Development Council, Wali Khan village
