A Goat for an Afghan Woman
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, where women have lost almost everything, three goats can change a family. We have been doing this every year since 2015.
The context
In Afghanistan — and even more so after the Taliban takeover — widowed women are among the most vulnerable people of all. Many men have died in war, fled the country, or been forced to join armed groups. Girls' schools are closed. Access to work is almost impossible. Drought has destroyed the harvests. What remains, often, is livestock.
How it works
Each year, in the most affected provinces — including Farah, Balkh and Takhar — the 15 families in the most vulnerable conditions are identified. Each receives 3 goats.
The choice is not random. Goats are hardy, adapt well to the local environment, require low maintenance costs and reproduce every year. A goat that gives birth means milk, cheese and yoghurt for the family — and kids to sell. A one-year-old kid is worth 14,000-15,000 AFN: a sum that in these rural areas can support a family for weeks.
The project is implemented by the Social Association of Afghan Justice Seekers (SAAJS) — a local organisation operating under strong Taliban pressure, which ensures that aid reaches the beneficiaries directly, without intermediaries who might divert it.
What we have seen
Since 2015, Casa Costa Foundation ETS has contributed over €48,000, supporting hundreds of families across several Afghan provinces.
The stories that come back from the reports are direct and concrete. Women who used to work in the fields or weave carpets for a meagre income, and who now manage a small flock. Mothers who can pay for something for their children. Widows who have stopped depending entirely on external aid. It is not a spectacular transformation — it is the difference between having nothing and having something to build on.
Why we do it
In a country where the system has stopped working for women, intervening means choosing tools that do not depend on the system. A goat requires no permits, does not pass through channels the Taliban can block, does not depend on infrastructure that does not exist. It is concrete, immediate, and in the hands of whoever receives it.
It is the kind of help that is hardest to talk about — and the hardest to stop.
Other projects in Afghanistan
