Farmers walking through a green wheat demonstration plot with mountains behind

JDA International

1993 to 2025

Thirty-two years working alongside communities in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Wheat demonstration plot, 2016

Notice of closure

As of October 2025, JDA International has closed operations after 32 years of service. This site preserves our history and achievements for reflection and reference.

From the founder

A Letter from Bob

Dear Friends,

With heartfelt gratitude, I write to inform you of the closure of Joint Development Associates International (JDA) after 32 remarkable years of service. Since our modest beginnings in Uzbekistan in 1993, JDA has been committed to transformational development, offering aid and support to communities in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Our journey has been anchored by core values such as equality, humility, integrity, love and service, professional competence, accountability, and teachability. These principles have been the bedrock of our efforts to foster individual development, enhance economic and social conditions, and provide relief to those affected by extreme poverty, war, and natural disasters. None of this would have been achievable without the unwavering support of each one of you.

Read the full letter

We want to express our deepest appreciation for the hundreds of local staff members who have been the heart and soul of JDA's mission over these 32 years. Their dedication, cultural understanding, and tireless efforts have been instrumental in catalyzing transformational development within their communities. Through their work, we've seen communities embrace new agricultural technologies, adopt improved health practices, and gain access to clean water and education. Their ability to build trust, foster relationships, and effectively communicate our mission has been invaluable in creating lasting positive change.

To all our supporters, whether you joined us at the beginning or along the way, thank you for your invaluable contributions. Your support has been the driving force behind our mission across Central Asia and beyond. Together, we have provided food, water, shelter, and social and spiritual support to those most in need.

My wife and I wish to express our profound thanks to God for His guidance throughout this extraordinary journey. His wisdom has been instrumental in leading the hundreds of staff members who have worked tirelessly in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We are thankful for His blessings that have allowed us to serve others with compassion and dedication and for the many long-term friendships we have formed worldwide. We are especially grateful for the countless individuals who have come to faith during these years.

As we reflect on the lives we have touched, we feel a deep sense of accomplishment. While JDA may be concluding its operations, the spirit of service and empowerment will continue through the individuals and communities we have served. We will carry on with our work and service without the overhead of an organization.

Thank you once again for your incredible support over these 32 years. We are eternally grateful for your partnership in this journey.

With deepest gratitude and love,Bob Hedlund, Founder

Achievements

What 32 years of work achieved

From 1993 to 2025, JDA and hundreds of local staff worked with communities in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. These are some of the results.

1,000hand-pump wells drilled in Uzbekistan
200,000farmers trained across many JDA projects
30,000Afghan women trained in sanitation and hygiene
600Afghan associates and family members evacuated in 2021

Click here to see the entire list of achievements

Founded in Uzbekistan in 1993
U.S. 501(c)(3) since December 1994
Three countries
Closed in October 2025

By country

Results in each country

1993 to 2006 · Tashkent

Uzbekistan

Where JDA began: water near the Aral Sea, small loans and poultry for families in poverty, and care for leprosy-affected communities.

1,000hand-pump wells drilled
3,000small loans made, 85 percent of them to women, with a 95 percent repayment rate
500doctors trained in leprosy treatment
160families in the poultry program by 2003, in 12 villages
600+children treated at the children's tuberculosis center in Nukus, which JDA helped repair
46.5%drop in childhood diarrhea reported in communities using solar water disinfection (SODIS)

Highlights

1996CEBIS computer training center opens in Jizzak
1999Poultry program for widows and single mothers starts with seven families
2003More than 60 new family businesses started in Muynak with micro-credit
2005Ministry of Health approves expanding SODIS to five regions

Afghanistan

Eighteen years in the north: emergency food, schools and homes, farm research and machinery, clean water, and hygiene training led by Afghan women educators.

74wells with hand pumps, serving about 68,000 people
30,000women trained in sanitation and hygiene
6schools built in Afghanistan
95staff on JDA's team in Afghanistan
15,700men employed in food for work in the first two years of relief: roads, irrigation, brick making and hand-dug wells
85,000+farmers worked with under USAID's RADP-North, 2014 to 2019

Highlights

2003With Habitat for Humanity, more than 200 families build or rebuild their homes
2004Sultan Ibrahim School dedicated, planned for 2,000 boys and girls
2007OHT, JDA's sister company, begins importing two-wheel tractors, 494 in all
2008859 farmers trained in melon fly control in three provinces
2018More than 1,300 women have taken the BLiSS birth life saving skills course

Iraqi Kurdistan

Helping families displaced by ISIS rebuild their livelihoods through the RIVAL program with ZOA.

4,000+returnees, displaced people and host community members reached over two years
790cash-for-work jobs in the first year of RIVAL, 140 of them for women
547cash-for-work jobs in 2020, despite COVID-19 curfews
300livestock grants in 2020, after sheep grants for 260 people, almost all women, in year one
342people trained in greenhouse growing in 2020
94%of women who received livestock had kept them

Highlights

2017JDA registers in the Kurdistan Region and opens an office in Erbil
2018RIVAL begins with ZOA, funded by the U.S. State Department (PRM)
2019Workers renovate 1,500 meters of drainage channel in Beban village
2020RIVAL meets its second-year goals, serving 1,828 people

Eight areas of work

Clean water

1,000

hand-pump wells in Uzbekistan, and 74 more in Afghanistan serving about 68,000 people

Separately, the WASH program in Afghanistan reached 152,000 people.
See sources for clean water
Agriculture

200,000

farmers trained in total, across many different projects

Including 85,000+ farmers under RADP-North, two-wheel tractors and laser leveling.
See sources for agriculture
Livelihoods and small loans

3,000

small loans in Uzbekistan, 85 percent to women, 95 percent repaid

Poultry, micro-credit and grants for small businesses and livestock.
See sources for livelihoods and small loans
Training for women

30,000

Afghan women trained in sanitation and hygiene

Plus kitchen gardens for 7,700 women and BLiSS birth skills courses.
See sources for training for women
Health and hygiene

500

doctors trained in leprosy treatment

SODIS, leprosy care, WASH in Schools and villages free of open defecation.
See sources for health and hygiene
Education

6

schools built in Afghanistan

Including the Sultan Ibrahim School, and a computer center in Jizzak.
See sources for education
Relief, evacuation and resettlement

20,000+

Afghan families given food in 2002

Emergency food and filters, and the 2021 evacuation of 600 people.
See sources for relief, evacuation and resettlement
Food and cash for work

16,000+

Afghan families in food for work, 2003

Then 790 and 547 cash-for-work jobs in Iraqi Kurdistan in the two years of RIVAL.
See sources for food and cash for work

Figures come from JDA's annual reports, project records, publications and website; the headline totals and the school, staff, loan, leprosy training and farmer totals come from JDA records. Every figure's source is on the Impact page.

All achievements and sources Explore the timeline

Where we worked