HELMAND -- Water supply networks in Helmand province funded by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) are now providing drinking water for thousands of residents.
The Community Action for Healing Poverty Organisation (CAHPO) established seven of the networks in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province, and eight in Marjah district, Helmand province.
The systems have been built in areas where residents previously had no access to drinking water, said Fazalhaq Amiri, director of CAHPO in Helmand.
"All of the ... networks are equipped with solar power and can transfer water from deep wells to large storage tanks. The capacity of these ... networks is high, and they provide safe drinking water for local residents around the clock," he said.
![Children fill their water containers from a storage tank funded by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Lashkargah, capital of Helmand province, April 12. [Abdul Khaleq Hamim/Salaam Times]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/04/25/41815-w_3-739_416.webp)
Children fill their water containers from a storage tank funded by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Lashkargah, capital of Helmand province, April 12. [Abdul Khaleq Hamim/Salaam Times]
"Residents of some areas in Helmand province have suffered from a lack of safe drinking water for many years. They [previously] had to buy water or use contaminated water," he added.
"But now their problems have been resolved."
The 15 systems cost 4.5 million AFN ($52,000) total, which OCHA provided, according to Amiri.
Residents previously had to consume unhealthy water before the implementation of water supply schemes, Khair Mohammad Noorzai, a tribal elder in Marjah district, said.
"The level of underground water is very low in our area, and most [residents] cannot afford deep wells. They could hardly provide drinking water for themselves," he said.
"Some [of the new] ... networks have been built near schools. Children will now have access to clean water at schools. Previously, water was brought from outside, and it was not clean," he added.
Escaping disease
A lack of clean drinking water led to disease, say locals now benefitting from the new water supply.
Nimatullah, 51, a resident of Marjah district, said his children were always suffering from diseases caused by unclean water.
"The water was not clean, but we had to drink it in the past ... the water provided is very clean now. Residents of our area use tap water whenever they want and can take the water home," he said.
"These projects have brought about many conveniences. Several water taps have been installed near our houses, and families can access drinking water from the nearest tap."
Abdul Basir, 25, another resident of Marjah district, said he is very happy that a tap was installed just opposite his house and that he now has access to clean drinking water.
"We used to suffer from diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea from contaminated water. Our children often caught various diseases and were hospitalised for several days," he said.
"We are very happy that these diseases do not threaten our villagers. We now have access to drinking water from the tap, and it is very clean."
The assistance provided by humanitarian organisations has transformed the lives of local villagers who live in remote areas and were long deprived of basic services, Basir said.
Changing lives
Residents had to pay for drinking water in the past, but they now have access to free water at their doorstep, said Rahmatullah, 29, a resident of Lashkargah.
"The tap water is clean and healthy like mineral water. As it reaches various areas through the ... networks, the water gets filtered," he said.
"With the inauguration of the water supply project, our lives have improved greatly," he added.
Many who live near Rahmatullah suffer from poverty and unemployment; the new water supply is priceless to them, he said.
"Assistance provided by the relief organisations has changed our lives," said Abdul Satar, 35, another resident of Lashkargah.
"On one hand, they help us with food and cash every month, and on the other, they have brought clean water to our homes. If relief organisations had not supported the initiative, providing such services never would have been possible," he said.
Since August 2021, "relief organisations have saved millions of Afghans," he added.
"The assistance mitigated the adverse impact of the economic crisis on the poor and needy," Satar said.
Afghanistan would face darkness and crisis without assistance from the international community, he added.
Many regions of Afghanistan, especially Helmand, were deprived of the assistance of international aid organizations due to the unfortunate war of the last twenty years. The security situation in these areas prevented the implementation of development projects. Some areas of Afghanistan have been kept away from such development projects throughout the history, which caused a gap between the people and the government until it finally turned into a civil war. As far as I know, the people of this area used to use hand pumps or deep wells for getting water. It is worth mentioning that due to the weak economy, majority of the people were not able to set up this type of program for themselves. The point that can be mentioned here is that many wells in this area were overflowing and still cause death to the young children. We hope that the said program will be expanded to other remote parts of the country, and it is necessary to have a monitoring group to fully monitor the ongoing project to see if it is actually handed over to the right holder or not. Because in most cases, we saw that other international aid went into the pockets of the regional mafia instead of the poor people.
Reply5 Comment
Every human being has a great need for drinking water. Most people in Afghanistan do not have enough access to drinking water. There is no water supply system in the provinces of Afghanistan. It exists only in Kabul city, and the water supply system exists in several areas. Water flows in the taps for one hour in 24 hours, and people have to fulfill their needs inside this one hour. The United Nations saved people's lives from microbial diseases by opening a water supply project in Helmand province. Residents of this province used to use unclean water, and now they have enough access to clean water. The United Nations has launched a lot of beneficial projects in the provinces of Afghanistan in the past few months, and Afghans warmly welcome these projects. I request the United Nations to launch such water supply projects in other provinces of Afghanistan too, so that the poor Afghans can at least use safe drinking water. I request Salaam Times newspaper to forward this message to the United Nations Humanitarian Aid Office.
Reply5 Comment
Helmand is one of the provinces that has been a battlefield for years. The people were poor. They used to work in the poppy business, benefiting the mafia gangs or the Taliban. The people of Helmand, like many other provinces of Afghanistan, enjoyed very limited life opportunities in the past two decades or five decades. The war in this province was several times stronger than in other provinces. If we look at the war of the past few years, on the one hand, the Pakistanis kept the war hot. On the other hand, the British, who were also responsible for the war, and their war was fought by an Afghan commander. That Afghan was a new and young general of the Afghan army, Sami Sadat, who made every decision based on his emotions. He fought as the Punjabis did. The Punjabis did not look at our fellow Helmandians, nor did they look at Sadat. Because the Punjabis were still in the war, Sadat, who was in contact with the British, killed the youths and villagers of the Afghan army in these wars and set those areas on fire. In any case, the story of the war in Afghanistan is known to all the world's media, and the Afghan child is the victim. Today he is sitting on an empty stomach... but I am happy because, in the last few months, there have been a lot of development works achieved in Helmand. At least the war has reached zero, which is a big thing for us. Because if a nation builds a place in twenty or thirty years in the name of the settlement, then it can be sure that its area will be
Reply5 Comment
Finding water sources is easy. Every organization and every foundation can do this, but those who use these water sources should be extremely careful with water usage. I believe Afghanistan is the only country where people ignore waste water usage. Everywhere you see, every house will have a well. These wells collectively harm the Earth's main groundwater resources. We are not saying that organizations should educate people and tell them to use less water; instead, people should find this knowledge themselves and not waste water.
Reply5 Comment
Thanks to the United Nations and the other organization for providing clean water to the people of Helmand. In addition to water, people should also be taught not to waste water, and another point is to plant plants near the water tap to make the area green. For 45 years, there have been wars launched by Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Britain, and America in our country, and several generations of our people have been deprived of education. Not only our children but also the youth and elders do not fully understand the value of water. Both Islam gives clear orders about the importance of water, and the Holy Quran says, "We have kept everything alive with water," Contemporary thought says that water should not be wasted and be careful in its use. But because our people's minds are war-stricken, they ignore such things. Again, I request the organizations to please give them ideas and educate them about water conservation and greening of the area in addition to building water resources. Thank you
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