Partnership Overview

Afghanistan has been ravaged by war for decades. It has to be one of the hardest places in the world to establish a different way. Village of Peace has developed a programme to establish Peace communities based around caring for the most vulnerable and creating jobs and incomes for them to become self-sustaining. 

As an organisation, Village of Peace is investing in Afghanistan for the purpose of seeing a different way of living enhanced there. There are multiple levels of strategy. Some of these are:
1) To establish five DNA centres in the country that will act as hubs around which other development projects would develop.
2) Over the next 40 years to establish a Village of Peace in all 140 Districts of Afghanistan. These are based around the many widows in the country and orphans who need guardians.
3) To see the expansion of small groups of faithful people committed to change.
4) To establish businesses to allow for local empowerment and development. 

The most effective way for BHW to engage with Village of Peace is to invest in the development of the small businesses that will be developed. These are, and will become increasingly, the heart and engine of this self-sustaining movement.  

History of Partnership

The business was formed as an effective way to become involved in development in Afghanistan in a sustainable way. It is based around the empowering of local people. This first began by bringing them out of the country for training and development but now, with the establishment of the DNA centres, this is being done in-country. 

BHW's relationship with Village of Peace began as a referral from a mutual friend in Indonesia. Since then BHW's New Partnership Facilitator has been in regular communication with the key people and spent four days on the ground with them in March 2019. It was obvious that if this country is to ever become stable that development like this, at the grassroots, would need to be developed.

Beneficiaries

Potentially there are many beneficiaries but the generally poor widows, orphans and war victims are the primary beneficiaries, of whom there are huge numbers as a result of decades of war. They will benefit by being gathered into small, safe communities, and by getting jobs in small scale businesses and farm projects. Farmers who have lost the ability and resources to continue farming and logistics to connect them to markets will also benefit.  

What We Like About The Partnership

They have a very clear vision and strategies.
They have a strong team of people committed to making this happen, both in the Netherlands and on the ground in Afghanistan.
The team in Afghanistan are remarkable people, incredibly capable and committed. 

Key People

Leadership Profile

PW is the CEO of Village of Peace and has vast experience in ministry. He comes from a YWAM background and has spent most of his life behind the Iron Curtain and then in the Middle East. Since approximately 1989 his focus has turned to Afghanistan and in 1999, while also working in the Middle East, he started working with Afghan refugees in the Netherlands. 

P is a visionary leader and people respond to him. He has developed a great team of highly motivated people who have become involved in one of the most difficult places on earth. 

P is based in the Netherlands but since 2014 has been travelling to Afghanistan 3-5 times per year. He is married with an adult family and grandchildren. 

Other People Involved

BP is the business manager. He is married with children. He is an entrepreneur with a chocolate business and he also trades various commodities. He oversees the development of the small enterprises and travels to Afghanistan 3-4 times per year. 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision 

To break the negative spiral of poverty, violence and injustice in Afghanistan by investing in Afghan people through job creation, education and social welfare. They are there for all Afghans but their focus is the most vulnerable people groups in the country - widows, orphans and victims of war. 

Strategy

Village of Peace is not a short-term aid or development agency supporting local people from abroad. They strongly believe that the responsibility for change lies with the Afghan people themselves. Through education, learning and coaching the Afghan partners become the motors driving positive, sustainable change. 

Transformation in their thinking, doing and beliefs about ownership are central to their way of working. These five core values form the foundation of how they operate:  
1) Live transparently
2) Be a good leader
3) Look for peace
4) Be generous
5) Have compassion

These core values apply to the NGO in general and also in their projects and social enterprises. They believe that taking ownership and bringing these values into practice with facilitate change in the living and working environment as well as in projects and families. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on communities and society in general. 

Every person on their team or working in their businesses have to do human development training. This is the programme that helps them all discover the operating values of Village of Peace. 

Their strategy is to form the five DNA centres first then from out of those the Villages of Peace will develop. There are currently four centres established and the first Village of Peace will commence in September 2019. Within five years they expect the five DNA centres to be fully operating, that there will be 5-8 Villages of Peace established, and numerous businesses operating that will be employing people and generating resources to continue development from within the country. 

This whole project is based on it becoming self-sustaining as early as possible. It requires investment capital but this is to establish income-generating and profit-sharing businesses. They are very committed to developing this project on the basis of establishing real businesses that generate incomes for those working in them and profit for investment in the growth of the work. Foundational to all of this is the belief that real change will only occur when the local people understand the value of work and have meaningful employment. 

The business projects they are developing are largely based around what can be produced in the local area, in the DNA centres and at the Villages of Peace as they grow.  

Annual Budget

The annual budget here is US$5,500 and this will be used for the purpose of developing businesses. The expectation is that this will increase from year to year as resources become available.