Balochistan Livelihoods Security - Hygiene School Sessions

Concern Pakistan is one of the most recent filed sites of Concern worldwide.  Concern responded to flooding in Pakistan in 1992 and considered setting up a long-term programme to respond to chronic poverty in the country.  This finally came to fruition a decade later.  In the meantime, an office had been opened in Islamabad to provide support to Concern in Afghanistan and following a decrease in Pakistan’s HDI ranking and a new influx of Afghan refugees into the country, Concern Pakistan started working in October 2001.  In order to initiate long-term development programmes a number of different areas around the country were chosen as intervention sites – assessed and chosen on a needs basis:  the poorest of the poor, the most deprived and disadvantaged of the population ranked on the basis of access to civil services and basic necessities of life, ie. means of livelihood, education and health etc...

One of these sites is within the District of Awaran in southern Balochistan.  Balochistan is a sparsely populated, arid and overwhelmingly rural province which has suffered a drought since 1997.  Most of the population rely upon agriculture for their livelihoods and 60% of the agriculture in the province consists of dry land farming (ie. is dependent on the rain) and flood irrigation.  Awaran is one of the poorest in Pakistan and has been classified as ‘severely drought affected’.  Concern conducted a health and livelihood survey in the district that showed the effects of drought on the living conditions of the communities.  It was c lear that water availability was of central importance.  It underpins the very existence of communities and the villager’s livelihoods.  All the problems of the community were inter-related with the water supply.  Food security depends on agriculture, which relies on sufficient water and a functioning irrigation system.  Reduced water availability impacted on the health and hygiene conditions of the women and children – resulting in increased workload for women and children who traditionally fetch water for the household’s needs.  Poor water quality led to more water-borne diseases.  This was acutely the case in Izak Bazar.

Formal community organisations and CBOs did not exist.  The extremely low levels of literacy; the fact that the communities are unfamiliar with the notion of defining and managing development; and a local political culture that encourages exclusion and autocracy rather than participation, all combined to make this a very challenging intervention site.  Furthermore, the people of rural Balochistan have an extremely conservative culture, where the status of women is very low.  At the village level, the male power holders do not give priority or credence to the problems faced by women.  Whilst gender imbalances need to be addressed – in reality this is a very politically and culturally sensitive issue.

Working through its implementing partner, and local NGO, WESS (Water, Environment and Sanitation Society) Concern has begun to tackle the problem of water scarcity across the district in the following ways:  implementing ‘karez’ rehabilitation to include the construction of cement lining of water irrigation channels to reduce water seepage ) a ‘karez’ is an indigenous source or irrigation: a self-sustaining underground tunnel, originating in the hills, which acts as a subsoil drain, carrying water out to the surface); installing hand pumps for potable water supply; and installing windmills to provide water for irrigation.  Concern will also undertake complementary programming in disaster preparedness and mitigation.  In 2003 Awaran was affected by floods, which resulted in loss of property and household assets as well as agricultural livelihoods.  Already, flood protection bands and delay action dams (that divert flood water) have been constructed in parts of Awaran.

The project’s activities will also seek to improve the health status and general well-being of the community, particularly women and children, through health and hygiene sessions (within the schools and the community); Traditional Birth Attendant training opportunities; improved sanitation through use of latrines; livestock vaccination; and income generating activities (Handicraft Groups).

Case Study:

Children at the Kanzeelag middle school, near Awaran, have received Health and Hygiene training sessions with culturally specific pictorial aids created by WESS. The sessions covered personal, domestic, environmental and food hygiene as well as the importance of clean water.  The pictorial aids compared “good” versus “poor” situations.

Mohammad Zakhir is ten years old and lives in Izak Bazar, about 1km from Kanzeelag.  He has six brothers and two sisters.  He is in his third year at school and English is his favourite subject.  He wants to be a teacher when he is older.  After school, he works with his father in the fields tending the vegetables.

Along with other children in his class, Zakhir received the Health and Hygiene training three months ago. 

“They told us about cleaning our hands and bathing twice a day with soap (which he does); that we should wash our hands before eating food and after using the toilet; that we should keep our homes clean and tidy…”

He shared his knowledge with the rest of his family and they were very interested:  “Now my mother is changing her ways!”

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