Más de un millón de personas necesitan ayuda urgentemente
Pakistan: Customizing aid for the community
As many people affected by the floods move back to the villages, Oxfam, with local partner LHDP (Laar Humanitarian and Development Program) and the support of the UK Department for International Development, has started to provide clean water, sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion (WASH) to people as they rebuild their lives in their communities.
Oxfam believes that community participation at every stage is key for the successful delivery of early recovery programs.
While plastic sheeting latrine structures work well in emergency camps, the people of village Mubarak Hingorjo, in UC Begne, District Thatta suggest that plastic sheets are too thin and do not provide the required privacy at day time. Working with the self-selected WASH committee, Oxfam and LHDP have built latrines that are more suitable to the needs of the people of Mubarak Hingorjo. The WASH committee comprises of 4 men and 4 women, to ensure equal participation of men and women in decision making.
Qazu, 30 years old, is a WASH committee member and lives with her husband and 7 children. “We do not feel comfortable going to blue plastic sheet latrines when the sun is shining. We are afraid people will be able to see our shadows.”
“We mutually agreed to build latrines and bathing spaces, with a material that we use to build our houses in this area,” says Meme, 50 years. She lives with her husband and 8 children. “Children won’t be able to damage it as quickly as they damage plastic sheeting. We are happy that Oxfam listened to us and considered our request.”
“Our village is very clean now,” says Aasi, 45, mother of 2 girls. “Due to having latrines near our houses, no one is going behind the bushes. So there is no smell and there are fewer flies in the village now. We are not literate people but we are told that using latrines and washing hands, clothes and pots properly is good for us and our children’s health. And we can see the difference.”
“Our children now have learned to use latrines and wash their hands properly with soap.”
“It's incredibly convenient to have a proper latrine and bathing places so close to our houses,” says Razia, 20 years old. “I am 5 months pregnant and I do not have to go to bushes or uncomfortable places now. I feel very secure using these latrines even at night time.”
Oxfam, LHDP and local people have worked together to build eight latrines with hand washing devices, as well as three bathing spaces, a laundry pad and two hand pumps in the village. Each latrine is shared by five households.
Local people have dug pits and transferred bricks and cement from one place to another. “Our crops are still under water so I have no means to earn bread for my 6 siblings,” says Abdul Wahid, 20 years old. “I worked to move bricks and cement to the construction site for 12 days to build these latrines and earned 250 Rs. per day. It did not end our problems but helped me buy food for my parents and younger sisters and brothers.”
“In early recovery phase we are focusing on longer-term results,” says Khurram, Public Health Engineer at Oxfam GB. “We have planned to go for a twin-pit structure because a pit will overflow in 6 months maximum. When one pit is full and decomposing, the other can be used. This cycle can go on for many years.”
This program is supported by funds from the UK Department for International Development. In lower Sindh, Oxfam and its local partners is aiming to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene promotion to around 105,000 people (15,000 families) living in camps and villages.
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