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October 31, 2004
REVIEW: So that they can dream again
OVER two decades of war have had a devastating impact on the psyche of the Afghan people. Despite this, they are courageously striving to look beyond the destruction and hope for a better future.
Education and the welfare of children have suffered tremendously. In many areas, school buildings and facilities, as well as access to stationery and books is limited. At the moment, there is a lack of good teachers.
Within a few years, children currently attending school will be working in agriculture, medicine, education and engineering. The quality of their education now will determine the ‘strength and reliability’ of these vital services in the future.
During the war, some children were soldiers and many lost one or both parents. In some cases, this resulted in children becoming the main bread winners of their family. Even though the extended family institution has helped children deal with the trauma of war and the loss of loved ones, many are suffering from psychological problems, such as remaining silent, not eating, not interacting with others, and behavioural disorders. Such children need to be rehabilitated so that they can think positively and dream of a bright future.
Chris Menist’s first book titled Of Hopes and Dreams deals with the Children’s Rehabilitation Centre set up in Kabul by the Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan (CCA) and the Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan in 2002. The centre does not aim to replace public schools, but rather provide a conductive and peaceful atmosphere where children feel secure. It aims to encourage and support children with economic and psychological problems.
Children are taught about child rights/human rights, social cooperation (lessons on manners, behaviour and citizenship), personal hygiene, cooking, first aid, the importance of unity and friendship between different ethnic groups, music, drawing, Farsi and mathematics. Children get to take part in sport/leisure activities. The centre also provides milk, bread, fruit, clothing and stationary.
Positive changes have been seen in many children who were previously ‘cripplingly’ shy or were still in shock or did not want to attend public school. These children, many of them girls, have begun to take keen interest in their studies and look towards the future with enthusiasm, setting high goals for themselves. They desire to be doctors, engineers, architects, teachers, executives and even the president.
Unfortunately, due to its limited budget, the centre can only take one child per family from the poorest families. More of such rehabilitation projects are sorely needed in Kabul and all other cities and rural areas.
Building Lives and Livelihoods... focuses on the Shomali Shelter Project, which was funded by the Norwegian Project Office.
The area highlighted is the Bagram district (Parwan) in the Shomali valley, which was the frontline in the war between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance. Hence its immense sufferings and destruction. While successful rebuilding programmes have been undertaken in the urban areas, the rural areas have been largely neglected. This is despite the fact that 85 per cent of Afghans live in the rural areas. Ninety-five per cent of the population of Bagram depends on agriculture for its livelihood and five per cent of irrigated valleys such as Shomali used to supply 85 per cent of the country’s total agricultural output. The Taliban forces destroyed villages and razed crops such as wheat fields and vineyards. They also planted landmines in some fields.
It can take up to eight years to harvest grapes from replanted vines. This has severe economic implications. The number of pests and plant diseases has also increased. The irrigation system had been badly battered and has broken down. This has resulted in severe water shortage and drought in villages at the end of the chain, such as Qala Bland and Qala Chal, making farming almost impossible.
Other villages, such as Sayud, that lie along the rivers suffer due to flooding. A large percentage of crops and trees are destroyed and 100 km of soil is lost every year, causing the villages to diminish. Basic flood defences are urgently needed. Due to these problems, villagers have lost their source of livelihood and there is a major food shortage in many areas.
During the war, large numbers of villagers sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran. The original population of all the villages grew and some even quadrupled. Returnees were faced with a shortage of space and were forced to live in cramped conditions. Sometimes a few families had to share one roof. Hence the first priority of returnees was to find a place to live.
The target group of the Shomali Shelter Project are the very poor (those who live hand to mouth), including widows who are raising large families without the benefit of a proper breadwinner. The project provides each beneficiary with window and door frames, glass, lintel, and straw and wooden beams for the roof. It pays for any skilled labour required.
Recently, income generation kits have been provided to 3,500 people. Each kit contains several different agricultural tools along with wheat, seed and fertilizer. A series of wells are being dug to provide drinking water. This aid has allowed the poor to use any money they earn for food, medicines, etc. This project has mobilized people to work together and return to their villages. It has boosted their morale to see their “decimated houses coming back to life”.
However, unemployment is very high and more water is needed. Many villages do not have access to schools and health clinics. International aid agencies must do more to create jobs in these areas. If this is not done, it will leave the villages with a stark choice — “making ends meet against unreasonable odds, or the prospect of returning to refugee status”.
Both the books are concise and lucid, with excellent photographs. The author has done a wonderful job of making the international community aware of the challenges faced by the Afghan people and the aid required for long term sustainability.
Of Hopes and Dreams...
The Children’s Rehabilitation
Centre — Kabul
Building Lives and Livelihoods... The Shomali Shelter Project
By Chris Menist
Church World Service — Pakistan/Afghanistan
Islamabad Office, P.O. Box # 1362, Islamabad. Tel: 051-2103171
Fax: 051-2103172
Email: cwsisb@isb.comsats.net.pk
Website: www.cwspa.org
27+27pp. Price not listed
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