Afghanistan: The hardship after the earthquake
Terre des Hommes is helping in the province of Paktika
In the early morning hours of June 22, 2022, a powerful earthquake (magnitude 6.1) struck Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. The destruction is immense. More than 1,150 people have been reported dead and over 1,500 injured. Thousands of houses have been destroyed. The numbers are expected to rise, as many remote villages have not yet been reached: the roads are in poor condition and now further blocked by debris. Heavy rains are hampering relief efforts. Survivors are digging with their bare hands, searching for missing family members and belongings.
The villages in the Baramal and Gayan districts, where Terre des Hommes partner organization AWEC (Afghan Women's Educational Center) promotes the education and training of women and girls, have also been severely affected. Many people have lost their lives there as well. The area is poor and remote, the terrain mountainous and rugged. In many places, where the mud-brick and stone houses once stood, there are now only piles of rubble.
AWEC is trying to reach even the remote villages
AWEC staff are trying to reach even the most remote villages, assess the situation there, determine the needs, and provide assistance. It is already clear that food, temporary shelter, medicine, and clothing are urgently needed, as people have lost all their belongings under the rubble.
Terre des Hommes has provided AWEC with 50,000 euros to supply 300 families in Baramal and Gayan with essential supplies for at least 20 days: They will receive packages containing rice, pulses, cooking oil, salt and spices or ready-to-eat dried food, as well as drinking water and containers for storing the water.
Medicine, baby food, clothing, and hygiene kits including soap and sanitary napkins are being distributed to those in need, while pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are receiving nutritional supplements. Since almost all houses have collapsed in many villages, tarpaulins, blankets, and bedsheets are also being distributed so that families can build makeshift shelters. AWEC staff on the ground, together with community members, will decide who receives the aid. An estimated 900 children will benefit.