The District Governor for Yawan, in eastern Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province, does not go anywhere without his personal armed guard. The guard is ever alert, making sure his boss is safe. He's always on the governor's tail, or rather on the tail of donkey which is the governor's only mode of transport.

There are no flashy government vehicles here - no luxurious cars to carry the governor to do his work for the 27,000 or so people who live in Yawan. Poverty is far-reaching in Afghanistan. But despite the hardship and the many obstacles faced, there are those - such as the donkey-riding governor - who are desperately trying to improve the lives of the people most affected by poverty and the conflict. And there are many who need that help. Whenever I'm out in the field I see people trying to make a life for themselves, people who have literally nothing. More than half the population live below the poverty line. Families are living without electricity, running water or access to medical care or education.

Oxfam funds a number of projects in the country, all of which are making a real difference. One such project provides education and other support to around 10,000 street kids. It is run by a local organisation called Aschiana with support from Oxfam. Afghanistan has no social security or benefits system, so children from poor families who have nothing are often forced onto the streets to beg. Aschiana is an incredible organisation which is helping to overcome the child labour trade and giving children the skills to carve out a better future.

I often marvel at how enterprising the street kids are and how innovative and smart they always seem to be. For example, when the swine flu scare began, the kids were out on the streets of Kabul selling the facemasks that many people were wearing to protect them from the virus. Some of the children from Aschiana's learning centres have gone on to university, represented their country at football and even won international art competitions. It's a true rags to riches story.

Afghan women who find themselves in the grip of poverty are similarly left with no choice but to beg on the streets. In the winter here it gets as cold as -29 degrees Celsius, but there is a street in southern Kabul where, at any time of the day, you will see women in their Burkas sitting cross-legged, begging in the middle of the busy road. It is one of the most harrowing things I've seen in my time here. Oxfam funds a number of projects aimed at helping women out of poverty, such as Zardozi - an organisation that helps vulnerable Afghan woman get fair pay for their sewing skills. Salma's story is typical. Her husband lost a leg and a hand in a bomb blast in Jalalabad near the Pakistan border. The family's future looked bleak, as he couldn't provide an income.

There was some good news for the family when Selma discovered she was pregnant. But because she had no access to a hospital or doctor, she suffered greatly through the delivery. The baby was born sickly and died within days. But like many women in her village, Salma is good at embroidery. Zardozi, which runs one of the most fashionable boutiques in Kabul, helped her build profitable links with traders and as a result the family's income soared.

Salma's next pregnancy was much less traumatic and she now has a healthy child. Maternal mortality in Afghanistan is amongst the highest in the world with one in four women in some areas dying of pregnancy-related complications. One in five children won't make it to their fifth birthday. This year we have been thinking about how we can help people benefit from the amazing natural resources that surround them. We recently launched a project which delivers electricity to villages using micro hydropower, small devices which harness the power of rivers to generate electricity and produce zero carbon emissions. They cost very little but make an enormous difference to people's lives. The electricity makes it easier to give access to medical care and education and I am always overwhelmed by the difference it makes to the lives of the people in the villages.

I hope that people back home in Scotland don't just think of Afghanistan as a place of conflict. There are real people here trying to make the most of their lives and Oxfam is helping them to do just that. This has been a hard year financially for everyone, not least the people of Afghanistan. The people of Scotland are always extremely supportive of Oxfam's work and I know that they will support the Sunday Herald's Christmas Appeal and help make a real difference to the lives of ordinary people like Salma. Your donations will be used to fund projects like these and others which Oxfam and our partners are working on in Afghanistan.

Grace is from Glasgow and has worked in Afghanistan for six years.

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