By KAORU NAGASAWA
The water and sanitation management system in Afghanistan is worsening due to climate change, which has caused lots of rainfall, flash floods, and clogging of these management systems. Japan Emergency NGO (JEN), is one of the few Japanese NGOs that has been operating in Afghanistan, and it is currently providing on-site needs assessment after the severe recent floods.
While Japan foreswore military intervention after World War II, the country remains actively engaged in the world as a major sponsor of humanitarian efforts — not just as a donor, but as an active participant in aid and development work on the ground in conflict zones.
For example, mountainous Nangarhar Province in central Afghanistan has historically been controlled by militant groups, including the Taliban. Prior to 2019, when the Afghan government regained control of Nangarhar Province’s Chaparhar district, access was completely restricted. Still today, debris blocks unpaved roads, and the infrastructure is in shambles. Chaparhar especially had many returnees who were forcibly expelled by the Pakistani government as it is only 49 miles from the Torkham border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
JEN began its operations in the province in 2001 with a focus on water supply and sanitation and in the Chaparhar area in 2019. Established in 1994, JEN has been dedicated to supporting refugees, returnees, and International Displaced People (IDPs). Some areas get media attention, which leads to international support and investment for reconstruction. On the contrary, JEN is working in areas that don’t get much media attention, which shows how JEN has been operating locally and maintaining close communication with the local communities. As a result, JEN has seen how the situation in Chaparhar changed. Before starting a project, JEN usually coordinates with the Afghanistan Directory of Refugee and Repatriation (DoRR) and the Directory of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD), and has meetings with the stakeholders too. This is an important process for both JEN and the local authorities because it allows them to coordinate development assistance. When the Afghanistan government regained control in 2019, by balancing JEN staff’s safety with the need for outside help in the community, Charparhar was chosen and there was no reason for the organization to hesitate supporting people in Chaparhar, Nangarhar.
Among many urgent issues, the water supply and sanitation are pressing.
“Almost 95 percent of people do not have access to safe drinking water in dire environmental and personal hygiene,” said Hameedullah Hamid, the acting head of the JEN Afghanistan office.
As a result, people in Chaparhar use a surface water well, which means they do not reach the cleaner sources of water deeper below ground. Water from surface wells exposes people to infectious diseases such as diphtheria and malaria, and also skin problems.
(A child drawing muddy water from a stream; JEN website https://www.jen-npo.org/en/project/project_afghanistan.php)
Given this situation, JEN started constructing a well in Chaparhar after the government regained control of the province in 2019. “Japan has a good reputation in Afghanistan and the people have a good image of Japan,” Hamid said. “When I chose JEN, a Japanese NGO, it is to work for the community and for the country.”
The well project aims to provide safe drinking water to a community with 2,500 residents in 360 households in Chaparhar through 20 stand-posts. This project appears to be an ordinary project that many NGOs in the world are doing in developing countries. What is unique in JEN’s project, however, is that it focuses on the self-reliance of the residents from a long-term perspective. It tries to educate people to enhance knowledge and practice of hygiene, create jobs for them, and establish a sustainable maintenance system of the well.
“People just do not know dirty water causes diarrhea,” said Akiko Matsuura, a staff member who is overseeing the project in the JEN Tokyo office. “Once they know it, it is not difficult for them at all to stop drinking dirty water and use the well we construct.”
Their steady support is now moving the community forward. JEN established the Water Management Committee (WMC) and called for twenty volunteers. The goal is to localize the operation of the wells, and the WMC, which consists of local residents, will run the operation when JEN no longer does. The good news is that twenty-two people from diverse ages, backgrounds (returnees, IDPs, host community) and gender raised their hands. Two students were also included. This leads the project to reflect as many voices as possible in a long-term perspective. JEN is creating jobs for local people too. Today, three people in the community are working for JEN as hygiene promoters and social organizers. In addition, JEN is collaborating with local companies and providing them with local labor.
Also, one of the ways for JEN to measure the impact of their projects is the Knowledge Attitude Practices (KAP) survey, which is conducted orally by JEN staff given the average education level of the local people. The three levels, high, medium, and low, show how educated people are about hygiene. The results help JEN not only assess the impact of their projects but also set levels of sessions and projects they implement. So far, JEN interviewed 183 residents, 91 male and 92 females, and saw 80 percent improvement, and the interviews are still on-going.
Children crossing the roadway to fetch water; JEN website https://www.jen-npo.org/en/project/project_afghanistan.php
However, the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Afghanistan too. According to Hamid, many people do not believe in COVID-19 and do not wear masks. In concert with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and few job opportunities, the security situation is getting worse and incidents of violence are rising. Consequently, many people are facing poverty.
Luckily, the project itself has not been affected adversely. Partly due to the insufficient capacity of the Afghanistan government to test a large population, there is no restriction such as curfew or limiting social gathering so far, which allows JEN to continue their operations. Of course, JEN pays careful attention to COVID-19. In addition to having a session on COVID-19 and distributing masks, when people get together to speak with JEN, JEN rents a huge room compared to the number of people and asks them to wash hands before entering the room.
“Today, mosques, cities, and schools are not secure, meaning Afghanistan is not secure, but we should protect ourselves,” said Hamid. “We should work for our community, country, and people.”