In the Jawzjan province's Sheberghan city, Afghan Tepa Arabia is an isolated village home to 321 families (2044 people). Due to their isolated location and lack of access to basic facilities like clean water for drinking and sanitary conditions, they are more vulnerable to water-borne illnesses like typhoid and diarrhea.

Residents defecated in the open due to a lack of improved latrines and a lack of awareness of hygiene, which has fatal effects on people's lives, especially the lives of children.

Afghan Tepa Arabia village

One of the village's residents, Haji Samandar, stated that they discard their trash on public pathways and use stream water for fulfilling everyday requirements. "Our families were impacted by diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses because we used stream water for a long time without following any personal or environmental hygiene rules."

Haji Samandar with his children

In order to provide the Afghan Tepa Arabia village with safe drinking water, DACAAR installed a Solar Water Supply Network on July 1st, 2023, with funding assistance from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA). They also implemented the CLTS (Community Lead Total Sanitation) program to raise awareness of health issues. The project was completed on December 31, 2023.

Solar park boundary wall

How did the project affect the lives of its beneficiaries?
Beneficiaries have access to clean drinking water through the Solar Water Supply Network, which helps to reduce the risk of water-borne illnesses. Through the CLTS initiative, beneficiaries were able to hear information about basic treatment, sanitation, and hygiene.
"We faced many problems with the lack of access to safe water and illiteracy of hygiene and CLTS" Haji Samandar said.

In addition to expressing gratitude to DACAAR and NMFA for implementing this initiative in their community, the beneficiaries pledged to incorporate all of the guidance provided by the CLTS team into their everyday routines.

Village pervious water source

Written by: Israrullah Sahil