MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
It is ten years since the Taliban lost power in Afghnaistan, and since then over 800 billion dolllars worth of Aid has flooded the country. But despite this, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world; 92 % of the population have no proper sanitation; four out of five people have no access to safe drinking water. Over twenty percent of children under the age of five will die as a result of water related diseases. In October, 2011, I was asked to travel with the international NGO, Medair, to photograph their Water and Sanitation (WASH) programmes in the province of Bamyan in Western Afghanistan.
Medair's WASH teams have assisted over 40,000 people. They have provided communities with hygiene education, protected fresh water springs from contamination, built wells, latrines and stand pipes and encouraged communities to develop hygenic practices as part of their daily lives.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A view down one of the valleys in which Medair work near the the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Small houses dot the landscape in valleys in which Medair have WASH projects throughout Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 21st October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Yousef, who has six children, holds up his harvest of potatoes at his house in the village of Borlak Paein in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 21st 2011. As a result of a prolonged drought his crop is not as good as it has been and he has had to buy in a lot of food for the winter. His village have never had WASH but have heard of the benefits and would like to see the programme implemented.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Yousef, who has six children, holds up his harvest of potatoes at his house in the village of Borlak Paein in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 21st 2011. As a result of a prolonged drought his crop is not as good as it has been and he has had to buy in a lot of food for the winter. His village have never had WASH but have heard of the benefits and would like to see the programme implemented.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Women collect water from a stream in the village of Borlak Paein in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 21st 2011. Their village has never had WASH but have heard of the benefits and would like to see the programme implemented.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A young girl feeds her goats in the village of Borlak Paein in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 21st 2011. Her village has never had WASH but have heard of the benefits and would like to see the programme implemented.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Masomah, who was widowed when her husband was killed during the war with the Russians, poses for photographs with her two grandchildren who now live with her after their mother left to marry another man when her husband died. She is a beneficiary of Medairs vulnerable persons programme as she has no means of income or place of her own to live.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Masomah who was widowed when her husband was killed during the war with the Russians, poses for photographs with her two grandchildren who now live with her after their mother left to marry another man when her husband died. She is a beneficiary of Medairs vulnerable persons programme as she has no means of income or place of her own to live.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A woman holds her child who is suffering from acute dioriah in the district hospital in Panjob in the province of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011. The doctor in the hospital said that he has noticed that villages in which WASH programmes have run have much less cases of water related diseases.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A sewing machine, marked with the words Titanic, sits in the corner of a room where community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Community members participate in a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) meeting after which they receive red plastic buckets to help them implement what they have learnt in the village of Talaqul, Bamyan, Afghanistan, on the 19th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A young girl herds her sheep in the evening light near to the village of Bostock, in the province of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 18th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A young girl herds her sheep in the evening light near to the village of Bostock, in the province of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 18th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Young girls pose for a photograph near to a water pump installed by Medair in the village of Bostock in Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 20th October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A girl leads donkeys while her father stands on the plough behind in a village in the region of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 21st October, 2011. As a result of a prolonged drought the harvest this year is much less than it has been in previous years and many people are worried that they may not have enough food to see them through the winter months.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
The wife of Yousef, who has six children, washes potates at their house in the village of Borlak Paein in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 21st 2011. As a result of a prolonged drought his crop is not as good as it has been and he has had to buy in a lot of food for the winter. His village have never had WASH but have heard of the benefits and would like to see the programme implemented.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Masomah, who was widowed when her husband was killed during the war with the Russians, poses for photographs with her two grandchildren who now live with her after their mother left to marry another man when her husband died. She is a beneficiary of Medairs vulnerable persons programme as she has no means of income or place of her own to live.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Women take part in a WASH training, organised by Medair in the village mosque in Obuqa, in the region of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Photos of the prophet Mohammed decorate the walls of a mosque where women take part in a WASH training, organised by Medair in the village mosque in Obuqa, in the region of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Women take part in a WASH training, organised by Medair in the village mosque in Obuqa, in the region of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
A woman holds her child who is suffering from acute dioriah in the district hospital in Panjob in the province of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011. The doctor in the hospital said that he has noticed that villages in which WASH programmes have run have much less cases of water related diseases.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Amin, who is disabled and a widow, poses for a photograph in his home in the village near Panjob, in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 22nd, 2011. Amin is a beneficiary of Medairs Financial support programme for vulnerable people and has been able to pay off loans with the money they have given him.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
Amin, who is disabled and a widow, poses for a photograph in his home in the village near Panjob, in Bamyan Afghanistan on October 22nd, 2011. Amin is a beneficiary of Medairs Financial support programme for vulnerable people and has been able to pay off loans with the money they have given him.
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MEDAIR I, Water and Sanitation
October 2011
An old man carries food he has just harvested in a basket on his back up a hillside in the region of Bamyan, Afghanistan on the 22nd October, 2011.
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