Healthy lifestyles start with access to clean water and proper hygiene practices, and DACAAR initiatives require that its beneficiaries across Afghanistan's many provinces have access to these conditions.
In the remote village of Wakil Qayoum, located in the Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz province, people have been utilizing canal water for drinking and other everyday purposes for decades. This has led to the spread of different water-borne illnesses, including cholera and diarrhea.

Muhammad Islam shed light on their village's challenging circumstances in the following ways: "Our children were occupied with fetching drinking water from the nearby canal for our daily needs because we lacked access to clean drinking water, which kept them away from school." Numerous water-borne illnesses plagued the community's inhabitants, particularly the kids, and treating them twice or three times a month was exceedingly costly.
He continued by saying that another way for people to spread disease and contaminate the environment is by open defecating.

DACAAR completed a WASH project in the aforementioned village. Commencing on May 12^th, 2023 and completed on May 11^th, 2024. The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is providing funding for the initiative through the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF), which is facilitated by the Islamic Development Bank (@isdb bank) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (@OIC_OCI). For the benefit of 1890 recipients (270 families), DACAAR built a water supply network that included 160 stand posts, the distribution of hygiene kits to each family, and three rounds of hygiene education. The residents are happy that the project is being implemented because they can now easily get safe water and are aware of the importance of hygiene.

Muhammad Islam talked about how his community is now doing in terms of having access to clean drinking water, maintaining proper hygiene, and—above all—that he will spread the word about hygiene to his other friends and to others who were unable or unable to attend the sessions.

The project's donors and DACAAR were thanked by the beneficiaries for building the water supply network and holding the hygiene sessions, which have allowed them to live in a hygienic and safe environment. In addition, they request DACAAR and its funders to carry out other life-saving projects and initiatives, including constructing a conventional school, a clinic, roads, etc., in their community.

Water Supply Network constructed by DACAAR for the Wakil Qayum community in Dasht-e-Archi District of Kunduz province.		Children collecting safe drinking water inside of their home.

Written by: Israrullah Sahil