The Pakistan Meteorological Department reports that the rains are expected to continue well in to the middle of September — particularly in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). During the first week of this month, all five dams of the country reached reservoir levels three times higher than those of the preceding year; briefly touching their maximum capacities. Water levels have now receded, albeit revealing a trail of more than 350 lives lost, more than 1,000 villages completely submerged and tens of thousands hectares of crops ruined.
Soil conditions across NWFP have reached a condition where the combined effects of the earthquake and its aftershocks, as well as the barrage of the monsoon have increased the risk of mudslides. Frequently, parts of mountainsides, including their unfortunate inhabitants, will slide off and tumble down towards the valleys, sometimes taking part of the road or even several vehicles with them.
The sliding not only presents a hazard of its own but it also significantly hampers movement of Internally Displaced People (IDP), distribution of relief items and transport of construction materials for use in the recovery and rehabilitation of earthquake survivors. The flooding causes rivers and streams to become contaminated and children may drink from them. Crowding and flooding in turn create excessively difficult living conditions giving rise to communicable diseases such as typhoid, cholera, skin conditions or gastrointestinal infections.
With the areas of Garhi Habibullah, and other such former locations of earthquake relief camps, inundated under water and the debris that it drags along with it, a number of earthquake survivors have been forced to flee their very places of refuge.
Moving in to new camps at higher-lying areas, they express fatigue and uncertainty about what is to become of them. Earthquakes followed by flooding seem too much to bear — and as yet more areas are being declared “Red Zones” (i.e. unfit for human inhabitation due to seismic or flood risk) more survivors find themselves being homeless anew. It is a self-reinforcing cycle. The floods increase the slides; the slides increase the portion of the land, which is either damaged or flooded and this in turn adds to the proportion of the population which stands in dire need of relocation.
CWS/NCA have conducted a series of meetings and dialogues with formal and informal village councils and elders as well as local Government representatives. The effort aims at increasing communication and liaison between the organizations and different players in their local environment — it is an endeavor to reach out and build bridges so that one can ensure that recovery activities best accommodate such aspects as the courtesies and conventions of areas which have until recently been relatively cut off from mainstream Pakistani society and have developed particular cultural, social or tribal norms over centuries.
To involve and seek the moral support of the elders is not only a formal matter of observing proper local etiquette — it also improves the effectiveness of interventions and enables CWS/NCA to tailor assistance according to what both the practical needs and inherited wisdom of a particular community may suggest. A meeting in the areas of Kar near Biari, Thodial near Sakar Gah and Allai near Balakot, led to the discussion of a particular need for livelihood support.
CWS/NCA responded with carrying out surveys and initiating recruitment for the Construction Trade Training Centers, which are highly successful vocational programs providing students with theoretical and practical training, Government and Industry recognized diploma’s as well as toolkits upon graduation. Training is currently being offered in Carpentry, Masonry, Plumbing and electrical disciplines. More than 300 graduates from the earthquake-affected areas have already obtained diplomas and more are receiving training. Many of their colleagues are employed in the local reconstruction endeavor as builders or as trainers for other builders who are working on building earthquake resilient homes.
Water and Sanitation/ Hygiene Promotion
The CWS/NCA Water and Sanitation program (WATSAN) has completed an additional five schemes and has begun work on five more in the Districts of Mansehra and Battagram. A water scheme is a complete arrangement from water source to distribution point and CWS/NCA has completed a total of fourteen water schemes. The WATSAN program will benefit more than 250,000 people in NWFP. The Hygiene Promotion Team (HPT) conducted several assessments and surveys of areas in areas of Battagram, which will see distribution of hygiene kits and hygiene promotion trainings in the coming days. The combination of clean drinking water, safe wastewater disposal and appropriate hygiene is absolutely pivotal in preventing the spread of communicable diseases in such a climate and under these circumstances.
Recovery Assessment and Monitoring
The Recovery Assessment and Monitoring Team (RAM) has been arranging and supporting the plethora of outreach meetings and sessions, which have been conducted and others, which are underway. RAM has the unique advantage of having trekked to even the remotest mountain villages over the past ten months and is able not only to map the needs and particulars of communities, but also to facilitate wider contacts and sharing between CWS/NCA and the local population. Consequently, RAM participated in the visits to village councils and elders and assisted PSST in developing a monitoring model, the Livelihoods Development Team in short-listing requirements and candidates as well as The Capacity Building Program and WATSAN in setting up community meetings.
Capacity Building Program
The Capacity Building Program (CBP) works to enhance the capacities of CWS/NCA staff, its local partners and the communities in which they operate. The CBP has been following-up a string of internal and external trainings as well as working on a manual for Inter Faith Harmony in practice. The manual and its accompanying material will seek to build bridges between different faiths and enhance the mutual understanding of their members. CBP is also in the process of formalizing a code of conduct for its field staff in the tribal areas and a workshop was conducted, with external participation and presentations, where team members could share and exchange their experiences of working in the earthquake affected areas in NWFP. Livelihoods Development
Both the CTTCs and an upcoming Animal Bank project are managed by the Livelihoods Development Program (LD). While the average CTTC graduate is envisaged to contribute both to the general reconstruction of his area of origin as well as the specific rehabilitation of his own household, the Animal Bank project seeks to provide livestock, animal husbandry training and veterinary support to e.g. widows so they can support themselves and sell dairy proceeds in the local market. LD has been finalizing recruitment of instructors and mobilizers as well as planning the launch of the Animal Bank with sparring from colleagues in Afghanistan, who have extensive experience with similar initiatives for female- headed households in a rural setting. The Program will be launched shortly.
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