Country Description:

CARE first established its mission in Afghanistan in 1961, but suspended activities after the Russian invasion of 1979. Resuming activities in 1989 from a new base in Peshawar, Pakistan, CARE delivered assistance to Afghanistan from across the border until 2002 when it shifted its main office back to Kabul. CARE Afghanistan’s programs centre around four main areas: education, women’s social and economic empowerment, rural development, and emergency response. Each program strives to strengthen self-reliance while promoting basic human rights, good governance, and social, economic and gender equality. In addition to its community-based work, CARE Afghanistan advocates with and on behalf of vulnerable and marginalized Afghans for national and international policies that support and protect their interests and maximize their chances to break out of the cycle of poverty. At the beginning of 2010, CARE Afghanistan was serving more than 1,500,000 people.