My Experiences in Afghanistan -Part 2

In my previous story on the subject (Skill Development:  Lessons from Afghanistan (1), I had shared the challenge posed by the then President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which took us Kabul to select the potential trainees for a focused short term multi-skilling capsule to be delivered in New Delhi.

We now move ahead from March 2005 from Kabul to May 2005, New Delhi.

The 25 Afghan trainees who were selected for a short multi-skilling capsule on use of power tools for construction related job roles arrived at New Delhi on the 5^th of May. They were well received and taken to the youth hostel in central Delhi which was set up to be their home for the next 15 days.  

A lot of hard work had been put in between mid-March and 4^th of May to ensure meaningful training. All elements to make the training successful were falling in place:

• The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan confirmed the broad trades of Carpentry, Plumbing and Electrical Wiring.
• The Principal of a private training institution in north Delhi offered his training centre, tools and equipment, day to day logistic support and raw material,
• A leading power tool manufacturing company offered support of power tools along with trainers and a full set of power tools for each trainee as take away,
• A college in north Delhi offered their under construction building for hands-on practical training,
• A leading manufacturer of portal gensets offered one set each as take away for all trainees to run the power tools back home in Kabul and last but not the least,
• An International awarding body came forward to ensure quality assurance, assessments, and certification.

The stage was set for a for a rigorous schedule of upto 10 hours per day. Motivation levels of the team were high and so were the aspiration of the trainees.

Day after day the trainees kept pace with the schedule. The simmering heat of above 40 degrees Celsius did not deter the trainees coming in from a much cooler climate. The motivation remained high.

The training session ended with the certification ceremony, a site seeing tour of New Delhi and a shopping binge at a popular market in south west Delhi.

The icing on the cake came in the form of the acceptance from The President of India to interact with the trainees at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was like a dream come true. A lifetime experience for all the members of the training team and the trainees. In addition to the competency certificate, the power tools set, the portable genset each of the trainee carried home their picture and vivid memories of their personal interaction with The President of India.

Next morning the trainees left for Kabul with hope in their eyes.

July / August 2005. It was time to go back to Kabul for an impact assessment.

As always, after landing, assisted by the Indian High Commission staff quickly reached the High Commission and then to the Ministry of Labour. The meeting with the Dy Minister of Labour was cordial, but only to be politely told that the Ministry had not kept a track of the trainees. This came as a surprise, felt completely left out in an unfamiliar territory with a task to search out the trainees from the streets of Kabul. With a never say die attitude, promised the Minister that will return with the trainees before close of the day.

Standing outside the gate of the Ministry’s building and not knowing where to start, the cab driver suggested that it will be good to start from the point from where we first met the potential trainees, ie the local employment exchange. Within the next half an hour we were inside the campus with no one in sight. We anxiously walked around to find someone from the employment exchange. No luck. Dejected, we started to walk back to the cab, and someone called from behind. One person came running towards us and smiled. He was one of the 25 on the reserve list who could not make it to New Delhi for training. We sat down under tree and narrated the story. He agreed to help and told us that all the lucky 25 trainees from the first list will be lined up outside our hotel by 3 pm. Relieved and yet apprehensive we went back to the Indian High Commission for some paperwork.

At about 2 pm drove out of the High Commission to be in time to hopefully meet the trainees at the hotel. Just as the cab left the big iron gate of the High Commission, the driver pressed on the accelerator and shouted that several people are running behind the car. I looked behind and asked the driver to stop the car. The driver continued to warn that it could be dangerous, but still stopped the cab on the side of the road. Within a few seconds the cab was surrounded with 15 familiar faces and in an instant, we were all sitting across the road.

Each of them had a story to tell. Each of them wanting time for a meal at their home. Each of them narrated how their life has been transformed. Some of them had joined hands to take up the woodwork, electrical wiring, and plumbing work of a few buildings under construction and had saved over 50,000 Afghan Afghanis after paying up all expenses. One of them had opened a hardware shop and his visiting card acknowledged the Indian organisation that trained him.  

This day was made. The emotions that run through us are hard to explain.

Same day, 5 pm, back in the Dy Ministers office with all the trainees lined up. The expressions on his face were priceless. By the evening, the report had been submitted at the High Commission.

28^th August 2005, the Heads of the two States signed a joint statement. The approval to set up the India Skill Centre in Kabul had been accorded.

Looking back at the year 2005, it could not have been better.

It had now become certain that correctly delivered competency based short term courses are very powerful and useful to provide immediate employment.  Another learning was that never give up in a hurry. If one door closes, several windows will open elsewhere.

My next story, Skill Development:  Lessons from Afghanistan (3) will take you through the setting up of the centre to its culmination.