Save the Children’s Advancing Women-led Agri-businesses to Reach Economic Empowerment (AWARE) project in Jawzjan province recently organized a Self-Help Group (SHG) exposure visit aimed at beneficiaries in Faizabad and Shebrghan districts of Jawzjan province. Female members of these groups have biweekly meetings, and every member pays 100AFN for the Savings fund, while occasionally, they can borrow money from this savings fund based on their needs. The visit was facilitated for sharing learnings in documentation, records, savings, loans, and business ideas among the self-helping groups form different districts of Jawzjan These exposure visits aim to improve group achievements, encourage learning from each other, and bring positive changes in their performances. The AWARE project aims to support the development or expansion of sustainable women-led Agro-businesses and foster an enabling environment for women's economic empowerment in urban and rural areas of northern Afghanistan by jointly addressing economic and behavioral barriers.

Zarkira*, a Self-Help Group member, shared, "We learned how to record our SHG in documents and organize our meetings in a proper way."

Shabana*, another member, said, "It inspires us to collect loans for collective businesses and help fellow women in the group. We are thankful to Save the Children for this opportunity and hope similar projects continue to empower women in other communities and districts.”