As Afghanistan enters the post-Taliban era with the help of the international community, and the prospect of reconstructing a viable society becomes a possibility rather than a dream, a group of dedicated Afghan-American professionals organized to form the U.S.-Afghanistan Reconstruction Council (US-ARC). US-ARC is comprised of 100 highly qualified members who are guided by an eleven member board of directors, who meet on a regular basis to strategize US-ARC's overall purpose to empower the people to empower themselves by rebuilding one city at a time.

Within US-ARC seven major committees meet weekly to work on plans for the following sectors: agriculture, commerce, education, finance, healthcare, human services, and infrastructure. Our members are Afghan and American professionals and students working towards the common goal of reconstructing Afghanistan. They all meet regularly with their designated committees to tackle the immediate, intermediate and longer-term dilemmas facing the people of Afghanistan. Each committee has a representative on the Board to ensure that macro-level development issues are always taken into consideration when designing projects to serve a specific need. Committees are encouraged to design proposals with the active input of local grassroots organizations in Afghanistan. The proposals will be submitted for funding from either international organizations or US-based foundations in order to support the various rebuilding programs envisioned by the Board.

US-ARC's Mission

USARC is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of professionals dedicated to the reconstruction and development of a civil society in Afghanistan.

One City at a Time Approach

US-ARC's primary approach to reconstruction is to focus on one city at a time. US-ARC will send multi-sectoral teams to cities which have expressed interest to assess the needs, consult with the local leaders and inhabitants and then, together with the beneficiaries and partner NGOs, devise plans for short, medium and long-term reconstruction. Not only will this approach be comprehensive but, as work progresses, it will help to encourage refugees to return to the cities and alleviate the burdens of overpopulation in the larger cities and refugee camps.

Our "one city at a time" approach is very unique in terms of how US-ARC identifies as its primary focus of reconstruction. As the international community bands together to offer both financial and technical assistance to a ravaged country, it goes towards funding large-scale urban reconstruction projects that will help the overall population of the country. For example when building dams, bridges, roads, a railway system, the rural areas are left to the provincial governments to develop on their own. At present, there are a reported 3 million people in the capital city. Kabul currently does not have the capacity to sustain such a large concentration of people, but the people know they are better off in the city than returning to their divested cities. For this reason, US-ARC can serve its purpose of rebuilding one city at a time to entice them to return to their homes and rebuild their lives.