Physical Infrastructure
• Water Treatment
The villages of Kodar and Jabbar consist of several sets of hamlets which are located in dispersed locations on different hilllocks.
This program addresses the problems of accessibility within the village clusters, provision of sanitation facilities where possible and guidance and advice on procurement of clean water and sewerage treatment. Among the most significant activities undertaken is the construction of mountain pathways for ease of accessibility for the elderly, sick and children. Other programs are being developed for promoting use of solar treatment for clean drinking water and methodologies for treatment of effluent.
Mountain Pathways
Through a consultative process with the community the urgent need for construction of mountain pathways was determined. Work on mountain pathways was undertaken in Jabbar and Kodar villages. The Jabbar programme was taken up from December 2006 to April 2007 and almost 3 km of pathways were constructed in collaboration with the community. The Kodar programme was begun in early 2007 and is ongoing. To date several pathways have been constructed which link various hamlets with each other. The success of the programme can be gauged by the fact that while initially, men of Kodar were not willing to provide any voluntary work, once the women’s programme of bead-making met with great success, men offered to participate in for the benefit of the community. Accordingly, while 2 days labour is paid by the programme, one day labour is provided on a voluntary basis by the local workforce. This has resulted in building up over 5 km of pathways in difficult mountainous terrain in Kodar . The present work of pathways is being led by Raja, who has been working with us ever since its inception in May 2006.
Group of community workforce helping to build mountain pathways.
Mountain pathways in Kodar.
Water Treatment
The women and children of the area suffer from several water borne diseases. In the aftermath of the earthquake, several water channels became polluted. Although many villages have now been provided with piped water, there are areas where availability of clean water remains an issue. Through the help of Mr. Saad Khan, a Swiss Pakistani belonging to Swiss Pakistan Society in Switzerland, a program has been devised to use solar heat for water treatment. This program will be undertaken in early 2008.
The temporary latrines that had been provided by various NGOs in the emergency phase, were a tremendous help in controlling outbreak of diseases. However, over a period of time, the effluent remains untreated and unregulated resulting in extremely unhygienic conditions in some communities. To treat the effluent a program has been devised by another Swiss Pakistani Mr. Sohail Mirza, belonging to Swiss Pakistan Society in Switzerland. The program relies on use of certain plants for treating the effluent. This program is being undertaken in Jabbar in early 2008.