Who is Medair assisting?
The target population are communities that live in the most isolated areas of Poonch district, where following the earthquake, 80-90 percent of the homes were uninhabitable, where basic health and educational facilities were destroyed, and many people lost their livelihoods.
Medair Projects
1. School Rehabilitation and Health and Hygiene Training
What are the core issues that Medair is aiming to address?
- Construction/Rehabilitation: The Health and Education Offices in Rawalakot have reported that 617 government schools were damaged or destroyed along with 35 health facilities.
- WatSan: Most of the water supplies to school facilities were destroyed by the earthquake, and therefore need replacing or repairing. Water supplies (springs) have been damaged, contaminated, or completely destroyed and will need restoration.
- Latrines: In most cases, the latrines in the schools were destroyed along with the rest of the building. Consequently, people have been left without access to toilets, and have had to resort to using open areas as toilets. The longer this practice continues, the greater the health risk.
- Health: A need for continued basic health education has been identified by the District Health Officer of Poonch.
How is Medair addressing the problem?
The goal of the project is to provide a multisectoral relief and rehabilitation response, including the reconstruction of critical infrastructure, to support the return of affected communities to a normal quality of life. This will be achieved through the following activities:
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© 2006 Medair/Odile Meylan |
Medical Services
Medair will continue to provide health education on scabies, safe water, diarrhoea, latrine usage, hand-washing, and female hygiene to communities in its area of operation, gradually phasing the project out as the government’s programme to improve the capacity of the female health workers is achieved. Between March and September 2006, almost 28,000 men, women, and children received the health education training.
Shelter & Infrastructure:
Medair will support the construction of 11 primary and middle schools, each with between three and nine classrooms, staff offices, latrines, and clean water supply to assist with the return of students, and help restore the livelihoods of teachers among the most remote communities. The construction projects will meet or exceed government earthquake-resistant building requirements as established at the start of the project, using either bricks or cement blocks, and reinforced cement with a galvanised corrugated iron roof-structure.
Water & Sanitation:
Provision of safe water sources and latrines for the reconstructed schools is an integral part of the reconstruction of education facilities. In many cases, the water source rehabilitation may be limited to repair of storage tanks and rehabilitation of protected springs, by walling in these springs and covering them with a roof-structure. In other cases, the replacement and repairing of pipes over long distances will be required to secure safe water for the community. Medair will coordinate with other NGOs, the public works department, and the Public Health Engineer office to avoid duplication of projects. Repair or improvements to the water source will ensure safe water is available to the school children. Medair will also have the equipment to test the quality of these springs and water supply points.
Emergency Relief:
Medair will maintain an emergency response capacity to respond with non-food items (NFI) to needy families during the rainy season, to ensure they have adequate shelter. These families include those who are returning from alternate locations in order to rebuild their homes, and may not be equipped with adequate shelter during the rainy season. They may also include those whose shelters are inadequate for the heavy rains and winds expected during the rainy season.
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© 2006 Medair/Odile Meylan |
2. Livelihood Restoration
What is the core issue that Medair is aiming to address?
How is Medair addressing the problem?
By:
- Medair is responding by purchasing and distributing buffaloes for families. With one buffalo, a family could earn up to Rs 4,500 (US$75) per month.
- Medair is also training families on community-based farming methods, and how to improve their marketing skills. Each family will be trained to farm one kanal of land (50m x 25m), which could generate an income of Rs 4,000 (US$67) per kanal per month. Medair will do a seed distribution once their training is completed and the kanals are set up for planting.
- Sewing circles will be set up for widows and female head-of-home beneficiaries.
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© 2006 Medair/Odile Meylan |
Presence of Medair in Pakistan
Medair had operational staff on the ground in Islamabad within five days of the earthquake, with a needs assessment team in Rawalakot, Kashmir by 13 October 2005. Medair started immediate distributions of plastic sheeting and blankets in affected villages. By the end of March 2006, Medair had distributed almost 8,000 shelter kits, 1,300 tents, and 11,000 NFI packages (mattresses, blankets, stoves, and hygiene supplies). Additionally, Medair provided health education, and training in earthquake-resistant construction techniques to over 11,000 people, and supported 14 health facilities with temporary shelters.
By the end of September 2007, all activities except the schools reconstruction had been completed. It is expected that with the completion of the 11 schools, Medair’s programme in Pakistan will come to a close at the end of October 2007, after a presence of almost exactly 2 years in Kashmir.
Ref. 1: Pakistan Federal Relief Commission – Updated casualty figures - 20th March 2006
Ref. 2: Pakistan Federal Relief Commission
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