People in Need (PIN) will constructed or repaired more than 100 water sources and given hygiene and sanitation education to over 30,000 people in a one year water and sanitation project in the Zare district of Balkh province in Northern Afghanistan.

Project coordinator Jan Faltus says: "Even though Zare is a remote and dry area, people are able to get enough water to survive. We would like to provide clean and abundant water for people and also improve the level of hygiene and sanitation here. Overall, this project aims to support water management. Each year, 85,000 children die from water borne diseases. Water really means life in Zare."

PIN has provided drinking water in the Afghan countryside for over five years. This year's focus has been on the southernmost tip of Balkh province. Since May 2007, the organization has been digging wells, building pipe schemes, organizing hygiene workshops and creating emergency water management plans. All of this is being done in cooperation with local communities and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. The project is financed by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO). Water and Sanitation is one of ECHO's priorities and PIN has been ECHO's partner in this sector for a long time.

PIN has been utilizing its experience from other water and sanitation projects. After assessing the situation new wells are dug, drilled or just repaired; springs are being protected. This project includes the construction of kandas, underground water tanks that collect rain and snow water. Paykar, an elder from Bande Qudok village says: "We know how to build a kanda. We have been building them for ages here. We just do not have enough of them and the capacity is too little. During a dry year, the whole village migrates to far away springs."

In addition to water, illiteracy is a big problem in Zare. Illiteracy impedes knowledge about basic hygienic standards. Raising hygiene and sanitation awareness is a goal of the educational part of the project. Workshops take place in mosques, schools and homes. The objective is to reduce infant morbidity and mortality caused by contaminated water. Fareed, PIN's head trainer says: "People drink water from the river even when they know there is crystal water in nearby spring. We want to prevent this. They must understand the difference between clean and polluted water."

After completing this project, the outputs will be handed over to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development which will be responsible for maintenance and further activities.

For more information, please contact:

Jan Faltus jan.faltus@peopleinneed.cz tel. +93 798 262 905