Photo credits:
PWJ, The Mainichi Newspapers,
Japan International Cooperation Agency

Special appreciation to volunteer translators:
Noriko Inaba, Natsuko Tokai, Mike Nix

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, after the adoption of the new constitution in January 2004, the first democratic Presidential election in the country's history took place in October. Steady steps are being made towards reconstruction of the country. Nevertheless, rebuilding a country devastated by prolonged conflict and massive drought is by no means an easy job. Although incidents against international relief organization staff still occur, assistance from the international community remains imperative for the rebuilding of Afghanistan.

Under the above conditions, Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) continued to work, in FY2004, on comprehensive development in the local community of Sarepul Province, northern Afghanistan. It is striving to revive the local community by combining the provision of social infrastructure, assistance for farming, assistance for women, and aid for education.

In an infrastructure provision project, which forms the foundation of both daily life and industry, PWJ promoted the building of wells, water tanks and reservoirs, irrigation canals, and bridges. Assistance for securing the water supply will lead to a recovery in farming, the main occupation in Sarepul. To support farming, PWJ continued to distribute wheat grains and fertilizers and, in addition, sent an agricultural expert from Japan to improve the agricultural skills of the local PWJ staff.

Furthermore, a nursery project is under way, with the aim of supplying seedlings for fruit trees and other crops to farmers. Many women lead difficult lives in a harsh environment as they have almost no chance to receive an education or take an active part in Afghan society. The situation is much worse in households where the husband has died or was injured in the long years of conflict, since the society rarely accepts women working outside their homes to support their families. In assisting such women, PWJ decided to choose poultry farming and sericulture, two ways that women can increase their income while staying at home.

The women were given training at a poultry farm constructed by PWJ. Similarly, PWJ also built sericulture farms for the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Sericulture, for women to learn the techniques of silkworm culture. In its educational support, PWJ began manufacturing desks and chairs for schools where the construction of the school buildings has been completed but which do not have adequate equipment.

In the summer of 2004, Afghanistan suffered a record drought. Many areas faced difficulty in accessing drinking water. In some areas, the population became internally displaced, and farm crops were seriously damaged. PWJ was engaged in an emergency water distribution program for a period of four months. Moreover, to implement fundamental measures to prevent water shortages, a study of appropriate water resource usage has been carried out by PWJ staff since 2003. Its aim is to create optimal water resource use in Sarepul Province. In FY2004, we made progress on the establishment of an investigation network and the collection of water resource data across nearly the whole region of Sarepul.