In Khost Province, Afghanistan, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is providing aid to tens of thousands of Pakistani refugees fleeing the fighting in the border regions with Afghanistan. Our teams have opened a new base in the heart of Gulan camp, Gurbuz District, where 15,000 people are living. Here, the teams are implementing a practical response to the challenges of access to drinking water and sanitary facilities, as well as hygiene promotion.
On October 1, 2014, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s teams opened a new Afghanistan base in Gulan camp, Gurbuz District. Situated on the border with Pakistan, this camp has received no fewer than 15,000 people from neighboring Pakistan. All these refugees were forced to leave their homes, fleeing the fighting that rages in the Pakistani provinces close to the border with Afghanistan. “This is a new development,” explains Remi Rodrigues, WASH coordinator. “Previously, we saw Afghans fleeing the fighting in their own country. Today, there are almost 30,000 Pakistani families who have come in to Khost and Paktika Provinces. They are not used to receiving help from NGOs, so we have to constantly explain our work and lay the ground work with their community leaders.”
Improving the lives of women in the camps
Faced with this influx of refugees, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is providing assistance in a number of areas: access to drinking water, hygiene promotion, providing and maintaining sanitary facilities in Gulan camp.
“We are providing water, maintaining the camp’s existing bore holes and building latrines,” Remi continues.
“We also have to take care of the maintenance of these facilities, as the wind is very strong here and damages them. So we are constantly obliged to reinforce and maintain the infrastructure.” One of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s other aims is to maximize access to “bathrooms”, for women in particular. “
The idea is to offer the women more privacy, because life in these camps is never easy, especially for women who are bringing up their children by themselves.”
Enough water for 15,000 to 20,000 people
In this camp, families of refugees live in groups of 5 to 10 tents. “So we adapt, and build sanitary facilities, latrines and bathrooms for each of these mini-camps,” explains Remi Rodriguez. The SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams are in charge of providing water for all of the refugees in the camp. “We are building tap stands and flexible reservoirs. We have enough for 15,000 people, with 20 liters of water per person per day. And if the number of refugees increases, which is likely, we have the capacity to provide up to 15 liters per person per day for up to 20,000 refugees.“
A warm welcome for the refugees
At present, the local people accept the presence of these refugees relatively well. A great many of them are, in fact, being accommodated within the Afghan villages near to the camp. This acceptance is partly due to a shared culture, but equally to the fact that the “local people know that they will gain from the presence of our organization, because we are going to build and maintain infrastructures that they will also benefit from,” points out Remi, who believes our presence in the country is necessary. “Being in this difficult zone is not optional for us. We have been in Afghanistan for 35 years and our presence today in Khost Province is indispensable to the Pakistani refugees who have been coming here since July, and who need help.”
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