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Presentation 21.3.2006 Mexico City- 4. WorldWaterForum [1.912 KB]
Afghanistan
More than twenty years of war in this country in the Hindukush have led to a total destruction of infrastructure, the level of education has been lowered drastically and dynamism has been replaced by depression.
Negative Development
Climate change has contributed to increased desertification. The lack of clean drinking water has become a serious problem.
Wells have fallen dry, new wells were not built and the population resigned itself to fetch their drinking water from muddy and polluted rivers or irrigation ditches. This has lead to an extremely high child mortality and an average life expectancy of only 42 years in this country.
International Aid
At the end of 2001 international aid began to flow into the country of the Pashtuns and Tadjiks, but most of this aid is directed at the capital city Kabul and other big cities.
The rural areas and their mostly illiterate population hardly receive the benefits of this reconstruction. Under these circumstances, fundamentalist forces sowing distrust encounter open doors and open minds.
Therefore, foreign aid should be directed at developing the rural areas, especially improving infrastructure and meeting the basic needs of the population.
The Work of Katachel. e. V.
The broad range of projects of Katachel e. V. contributes to the development of the Northern Province of Kunduz. All projects are coordinated in Germany by seven female volunteers. Project work in Afghanistan is done exclusively by qualified local experts.
• Support of 300 widows and their children with 26 EUR monthly
• Financing of urgent medical operations in Pakistan or Germany
• Construction of 170 loam houses for particularly poor people and returning refugees
• Building of 59 km road in the region of Kunduz
• Construction of 7 bridges and 65 small bridges
• Construction of a shoe factory and a tent fabrication with educational purposes
• Construction and maintenance of 20 schools in Kunduz and Takhar for 16 000 girls and boys
• Construction of 1050 draw wells in the Kunduz area for clean drinking water
• 800 weelchairs and artificial limps for Kunduz
Construction of Wells
Construction of simple ring wells up to 14 meters deep is the simplest and most direct help, especially for women. It is the responsibility of women to provide their families with clean water for drinking and washing purposes. These wells can be built at low cost and repair work (damaged buckets, torn ropes) can be done with simple means.
The ground water level is at nine meters below the surface, therefore the water can easily be reached with buckets. Like this, the water supply is guaranteed, even during the dry season.
The wells have to be cleaned by the people who use them, thereby strengthening their sense of responsibility.
The water is protected from pollution by wooden lids.
Further Needs
The quick growth of the Afghan population results in the growing need for clean drinking water and food.
Critical Areas
Many rural areas in Afghanistan are in deserts, where ring wells can not be built at reasonable cost. In those areas, like the plain of Eshantup, the water supply problem is very clear:
The children have to travel 15 km by donkey to fetch water from the muddy river that is also contaminated by bacteria.
In that region Katachel e. V. has just built a school for 600 girls and boys with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs TMF programme, WECF and bingo Lotto.
Water Protection
Population growth and a rising standard of living cause a destruction of the environment that is steadily getting more serious.
Ground water must be protected from pollution by nitrates from urine, and e-coli bacteria from faecals.
The Ecosan toilet prevents ground water pollution but also provides nutrients for agriculture. Excrements are composted and turned into valuable humus, urine diluted with water can replace expensive fertilizer.
Problems
First attempts to motivate the population to use Ecosan has so far been little successful.
At the teacher training college a presentation on this type of toilet was given, trying to use the teachers as multipliers.
There was obvious interest for the information materials and the resulting discussion showed a positive attitude from the teachers. But so fare, only few people want to use Ecosan toilets. One reason is a reluctance to discuss a topic like this. Another is the need to inform and train key decision makers first.
If the local chief of the administration has not been informed that urine can be used as fertilizer, this results in a lack of understanding for the signification of Ecosan toilets.
The illustration shows new posters in Pashtu and Dari that provide information on the benefits of Ecosan toilet in a simple way. With these posters we are building awareness with the local population of benefits of ecological sanitation and hygiene.
Mission of Katachel
Our aid projects build trust in politically sensitive regions and open the hearts of even the simplest people.
Our cooperation with the local population weakens the radical forces’ and thereby promotes all peace initiatives.
Afghanistan needs a combination of both basic infrastructure projects and educational programs. Making positive and lasting improvements in the lives of the common Afghan people needs lots of patience; only then we can achieve our goal.
