CWS-ACT
Earthquake Response

ACT Situation Report

Pakistan 06/06

ACT Appeal ASSA51 (Revision 2) - Emergency Relief to Quake-affected

Pakistan earthquake

Geneva, May 12, 2006

Information provided by ACT member Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS)

The following is a compilation of extracts from weekly reports on CWS-ACT activities during the first part of April.

From the April 5 report

Psychosocial program

At the end of March, the vast majority of the organized tent villages in which CWS-ACT was working were quickly emptied and closed. Some basic needs were still not being met, and it was a difficult time for both earthquake survivors and relief workers. CWS staff worked on public holidays and weekends to ensure as much as possible a voluntary, informed, dignified and safe return process of survivors to their home areas.

Having housed more than 200 families for more than six months, the Shohal Najaf tent village, near the devastated Balakot City, was vacated and closed on March 31. Families had been registering for departure and leaving for their villages since the beginning of the month, but last week saw the departure of the remaining 400 residents.

With camp management and residents, CWS psychosocial staff continued to hold daily discussions, monitor developments, emphasize participation and transparency of information and generally assist the families in coordinating their return. Male resident participated in plenary sessions, and female residents were informed through camp-to-camp visits and counseling. There were many concerns, insecurities and complaints ranging from the challenges of pregnant women and the elderly to transport and accessibility, as well as the perceived pressure to vacate the camp.

Lists of individuals or families having problems with practical or logistical arrangements were drawn up and circulated to camp management, UNHCR and other actors. Arrangements were made for them at alternate facilities – including moving a group of widows to a nearby Turkish camp. Other families moved from Shohal Najaf to join spontaneous camps, adjacent rented land or other places of unorganized settlements such as an urban camp in Muzaffarabad.

The return process from Shohal Najaf seemed to be comparatively more dignified and compassionate than at other camps and settlements. CWS-ACT endeavored to provide support, information, advocacy and protection to all residents, and staff were heavily engaged in finding options and alternatives. In particular, a 15-year-old girl with liver disease was shifted from Mansehra to Islamabad for free medical treatment.

At United Pakistan Camp, residents were anxious and unaware of what to do or where to go. CWS staff held a series of meetings and events – with residents, camp management and humanitarian partners – and opted for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist in transporting the families back to their places of origin. By the end of the month, about 80 percent of the families had vacated or registered for return. The remaining group of vulnerable individuals or families, whose homes and land were considered inhabitable, was given due consideration, and some accompanied the CWS Recovery Assessment and Management (RAM) teams on visits to their villages to asses the conditions for their return.

The CWS psychosocial team continued with initiatives for social cohesion aimed at youngsters, advocacy work concerning the process of return and the plight of the homeless as well as general protection-related petitioning of relevant authorities, with particular attention to the quality and nature of the transportation routes and facilities.

CWS-Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)-ACT water and sanitation and health and hygiene programs

Challenges to the sanitation infrastructure and health concerns are exacerbated by the movement of the internally displaced people (IDPs) out of the camps. Dispersed spontaneous settlements, coupled with overcrowded living conditions with decreased access to established and serviced water and sanitation facilities, could increase the risk of disease.

A spontaneous camp settlement near Batdarian in Mansehra received three water points from the CWS-NCA-ACT water and sanitation team. Further north, near Battagram City, the team constructed one of the longest water-supply lines, measuring more than 17 kilometers and providing clean drinking water from a village in the highlands more than 4,500 feet above sea level. A variety of sand and rock-based filters were installed along its path.

Similarly, the team is reconstructing another line to provide clean drinking water to the Battagram market and hospital. The water comes from a place 26 kilometers north of Battagram City at over 5,700 feet above sea level.

The health hygiene team reported that all but a few hundred of the former 20,000 resident of Maira tent village had vacated the camp and plans were being made for the transportation of the remainder. The team visited the camp and conducted training sessions with the male residents and distributed more than 150 hygiene kits. Training sessions were also held in the Batdarian spontaneous settlement near Batdarian in Mansehra, where the team monitored the use of installed hand pumps.

Recovery Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) team

Battagram and Mansehra districts were the focus of a comprehensive RAM team effort, and in a series of assessment and monitoring trips, the team covered the Navagara, Lower Sobrian, Upper Sobrian, Kashia Camp, Ghosia Camp, Batkarar and Patkar areas. More than 180 household and four complete village profiles were completed.

From the April 12 report

The major challenges foreseen in the coming months are accessibility of remote areas by road, potential land slides, continued assistance for vulnerable people, and ensuring that basic services reach universal coverage.

Psychosocial program

The days since March 31 have been a period of transition for IDPs as well as the field teams supporting in this process. The CWS team has been actively trying to ensure that the return process for IDPs happens in the most dignified manner possible. Planning for future activities in the villages is also underway. Shohal Najaf tent village has officially closed down, but regular visits by the CWS psychosocial program team are made to enquire about the well-being of vulnerable populations remaining in camps.

Water and sanitation, health and hygiene team

The CWS health and hygiene team held a meeting with army management in Maira tent village. Protection issues of the vulnerable IDPs who still live in the camp were discussed. The team was informed that the tent village will shut down during the week. Meanwhile, Phase II will remain open for IDPs until the end of July.

A training session titled “Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST)” was organized in the Botha spontaneous camp for men and women. The objective of the training was to educate and promote personal hygiene among the IDPs.

The water and sanitation team has installed a hand pump for water and started to build latrines and bathrooms in Ghazi Khot. The health and hygiene promotion team has started work in these villages and finished the registration of residents.

Recovery Management and Assessment (RAM) team

During the week, the RAM team compiled 315 household and 5 village profiles. Assessment visits were conducted in the villages of Battagram district: Gangwal, Rashang Kas, Manai/Lali, Bazir Khan Qalia, Batela, and Mera. Ten villages in Jarid, Mohandri, and Kaghan were also covered.

Construction Trades Training Center graduation ceremony

CWS-ACT, in collaboration with its implementing partner, Dosti Welfare Organization, held a graduation ceremony on April 5 at the Construction Trade Training Center (CTTC) in Mansehra. Certificates were awarded to the first group of 70 tradesmen who have received vocational training in four construction trades - masonry, electricity, welding, and plumbing and carpentry (each also received a tool kit).

Currently, CWS and Dosti Welfare Organization are working together to establish four Construction Trade Training Centers in earthquake-affected areas of North West Frontier Province. Two centers are already fully operational in Mansehra city and Bissian.