A Winter Holiday in Kashmir!

In schools located high in the mountains, there is a long winter holiday, for about three months, as it snows continually. JEN’s project site has also been covered by snow since January, but now the snow has finally started to thaw.

One day, I peeked into a student’s house, and saw a group of girls gathered there. Upon asking, ‘What do always do during the holidays?’ they responded in unison, ‘we study, of course!’ However, neither pens nor notebooks were to be seen. Instead, there were a few small pebbles. I asked again, ‘I promise not to tell your teacher, so what do you really do?’ They answered, ‘play with beanbags and play hide and seek!’

The children of Kashmir play with small pebbles as if they were beanbags. Watching them, I felt that this was a game possible only for children that have been raised in a place surrounded by nature that can be used as the resource for their games. At the same time, I noted that in practice the games played by children in Pakistan are not unlike those played by children in Japan.

Note: The school in Haveli county of Bagh city will have winter holidays from December 15th to March 1st.

（PICTURE (Upper Left)：Our project site covered in snow、PICTURE (Lower Right)：Beanbags with small pebbles.）

The future dreams of the young

　Supported by UNICEF and you, we are developing water and hygiene projects to the 120 schools in Haveri, Bagh.　Up until now, 80% of the water supply facilities have been built and it is only a few more steps to complete the project. After the project completion, approximately 13,000 children will be able to study in the safe and hygienically clean environment.

　The top three professions the children in Haveri want to become are: For boys, doctor (1st), engineer (2nd) and pilot (3rd). For girls, doctor (1st), school teacher (2nd) and nurse (3rd).

　The first important thing to make these dreams to come true is to provide right education to the children at schools. JEN will continue to support to provide right educational environment to Pakistan.    

3:00 AM in Bagh

Ramadan finally ended after a full month. Project site visits during Ramadan were quite impressive.

All the staffs in the project field in Pakistan eat and sleep together. During Ramadan, our local staff could not eat during day.　 So, instead, they woke up at 3am in the morning to have breakfast, then went back to sleep. During daytime, they visited and observed the project sites and after the sunset around 6pm they ate Iftar (the food for after Ramadan). 

The most popular and frequent topic among the staff during this period was “where to have Iftar”. Many people at the project sites invited the staff to their houses for Iftar. Staff could enjoy very nice Iftar at a school principal’s, at the landlord’s, a different place, every day.   　

During Ramadan, it is prohibited to drink even water during the day. We provided clean water to schools and saw the children drinking water but we had to endure the thirst! At the same time, it was a very good experience to help us appreciate the situation of having water running from taps all the time.  　

2 years after the earthquake

It has been 2 years since the earthquake on October 8, 2005. JEN has been continuously providing educational support in Haveri, Bagh. All the people in Haveri know about JEN as we provide support everywhere including the rural areas where ordinary support faces difficulty to reach.   

We are very happy when we see JEN’s support positively and consistently reaching all the people who need it. For example, “JEN’s School Bag”, which was distributed to the children and enabled children to go back to school immediately after the earthquake, is still carried to schools every day by the children.

The memory of the earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan is gradually fading away. However, the lives of the victims are still hard and require continuous support. JEN will continuously provide support required by the local people.

Autumn Appetites - Apples -

  Summer temperatures of over 40℃ are finally over and autumn has arrived in Pakistan. In grocery stores, autumn fruits such as apples, grapes and pomegranates replace summer fruits such as mangos and peaches.

Chanjal, Haveri, where JEN will start a new project to rebuild schools is famous for its apples. When we visited the project site, children gave fresh apples to us.

But the autumn is very short. Winter is right around the corner once it is November. Although this is the third winter since the earthquake, due to the significant delay in the reconstruction projects, children are still studying outdoors, in tents or temporary shelters.   　

JEN continuously supports children, including supplying sweaters for the winter.

A life saved by sports

A life saved by sports

We hosted a sports festival for the children affected by the earthquake in Bedhi, Haveri. This was the first sports festival since the earthquake and was well attended.

The last sports festival in the Bedhi area was on October 7, 2005, the day before the earthquake. The sport was volleyball, same as in this sport festival. The winner in 2005 was Mori Maidan High School. This high school decided to make October 8th a holiday to celebrate their victory, by coincidence, the earthquake happened on that very day. The first shake completely destroyed the school building, but fortunately, no one was hurt thanks to this holiday. Therefore, the sports festival in 2005 really saved so many people’s lives. 　

Below is a message from the Principal of Mori Maidan High School after the 2007 sports festival: 　

“Since the earthquake, we were too depressed to do class or sports. And today’s festival brought back to us the joy and importance of sports. We will train everyday and prepare for the next sports festival.”   

The day JEN’s support reached Bedhi

Supported by The World Conference for Religions for Peace Japan Committee and all of you, we are conducting educational support projects for the child victims of the earthquake in Bedhi, Haveri.

Bedhi is one of the most severely destroyed areas by the earthquake. However, due to the difficult accessibility, no organization other than JEN provided educational support to this area.

The way to Bedhi is very steep and it takes about 4-5 hours by car from JEN’s local field office. Between December and March, the route is blocked by snow so there is no access to Bedhi. It also rains hard throughout the year, which causes mudslides frequently. The steep road becomes very slippery and we can only approach Bedhi very slowly using a very experienced driver.

In Bedhi, so called “extremely remote area”, we aim to improve the educational environment for the earthquake victim children and provide:

1. Mental care workshop　
2. Educational / sports goods supply　
3. Sports festival

The project comes with various difficulties. For example, during heavy rain we sometimes get stuck in the middle of the road on the way to Bedhi. However, due to the warm welcome by the local people, we are able to efficiently implement the project during the very short summer. 　

The aftermaths of the school tents

On May 31st, the Assistance for Reforming the Educational Environment was completed thanks to the support of Japan Platform, individual donors and NGOs.

Today, we would like to pass on to you the local people's messages.
The children expressed that "the reinforced tents protected us against rain and strong winds. Thank you!"

The Teachers also expressed that "Thanks to the desks, chairs and reinforced tents the children were able to study in a better environment than that of the open air and sitting on logs"

"We were also shown how to reinforce the tents and we feel confident we can fix them when necessary"

"With the training about disaster prevention, we also learned how to cope with the stresses the children face after an earthquake"

JEN has distributed desks, chairs, and reinforced tents, and conducted disaster prevention courses for teachers at 64 primary education schools in Havaili, Bagh Province. Around 11,247 students and teachers benefited from these reforms of the Educational Environment.

A Food Story

When talking about Pakistani food many Japanese people tend to think of curry. However, since there are several ethnic groups in Pakistan, food varies from region to region.  For example in the North Western region, where the Pashtun (Pathan) group live, the food is not spicy and includes stewed mutton and tomato.  Whereas in the South Eastern region, where the Punjab people live, the food has plenty of spices and is very hot, like Kema curry well known by Japanese people.

Here in Havaili where Jen’s office is (Kashmir State - Bagh Province), the food is mainly spicy, similar to Punjab food. However, unlike the menu you see at restaurants, beans and taro potatoes are the main ingredient because people do not really eat meat here.

For Muslim people, serving a meal to their guests is a matter of great importance. When working in the field, local people sometimes serve us food. When we are very busy we try to refuse their invitation by saying, “I really appreciate it but I must get going to the next place….” to which they reply “never mind, come!”, so we are forced to give in to their invitation! This is just another demonstration of their warm hospitality.

Teamwork

My first spring has come here in Haveli, Kashmir after a long and severe winter.  Snow has melted in the mountain except on its summit and there is green sprouting all over the region.  It is so warm these days that I need an electric fan in the night.  Yet, it continues to rain often this April. 

Rain has been falling everyday from mid February to the end of March and this has hindered our projects.  Nonetheless, we have continued the projects, step by step, in strong collaboration with the local communities in the marginalized mountainous area in the devastated province of Bagh.  Local people and school children, even small girls have helped JEN’s staff carry desks for two-kilometres, on a pathway away from the road, in the rain, to the tent that we installed as a school.   

People survived the second winter after the disaster independently and they seem to have become more and more peaceful and confident.

Winter Clothes for Children

JEN distributed winter clothes to 254 schoolchildren in the village of Bringbun, Heveli in the Province of Bagh last October.  The Mitsui Sumitomo Smile Hart Club and the Japan Knitting Association kindly contributed all of the woollen knits for the children, such as, sweaters, vests, scarves and caps. 

Memoona Batool, an 8-years-old girl says:

“I got a chestnut sweater.  I am happy with my favourite colour.  I wore it on the Eid holiday (an Islamic feast day).  It is very cold in the winter, but I am fine as I wear the sweater everyday.  Thank you Japan for the sweater.”

Three pillars

  In Haberi, only 23% of schools have sanitary accommodations available and only 28% can provide clean and safe water to drink for children.

Shortage of these may cause the spread of diseases like cholera or Delhi belly among the children. And even if schools have these facilitates, if the children do not know how to use them, sanitary conditions would not be improved.

JEN had Three pillars: temporary lavatory, water supply system, health education, assortment of hard version and soft version activities. We will provide safe and clean education environment for 13,000 children through these activities.

Different Forms of Recycling

    Pakistan, and in particular Islamabad, is a heavily littered place. Garbage is omnipresent, with all kinds of trash clogging up empty areas and rivers. Such trash has clogged up the small river in front of the JEN office, leading to increased amounts of water, which in turn has resulted in the mass generation of mosquitoes. There is not yet any system to recycle glass bottles, cans, paper, and batteries as they do in Japan, it seems.

    An interesting incident happened the other day, however. As I went to a major printing ink store clutching an empty cartridge-for recycling purposes-I was looked at in a queer way. In Pakistan, they do not recycle the cartridge itself as in Japan, but reuse it by filling it up again with ink, they say. A surprise it was, but a pleasant one.

Past through the Mountains...

    More than 6 months have passed since the mighty earthquake hit. Mohammed (male, 56 yrs old), a victim of the disaster, told us what it was like when the quake first struck.

    "I was taking a bath at the time the earthquake hit, it was a little before 9 in the morning. The ground suddenly shook, and I scrambled out of the bath through the bathroom window.

    After making sure each family member was safe, I rushed to school where my children were. But since we have many children, enrolled in different schools-boys/girls schools, elementary school/junior high-I decided to start by looking for my youngest son, and hurried my way up the mountainous paths.

    Although some had minor injuries, all my children were safe. I believe it was Allah that saved us."

The 249 Classroom Tents

    On the 30th of April, we held a small party with the local staff to celebrate the successful completion of our mission in Bagh.

    From January to the end of April, we assessed the damage of 198 schools, and put up 249 school tents. It felt as though those 4 months came and went with the wind.

    The harsh weather of the winter, heavy snowfall, rain, hail, landslides occurring from melted snow, fear of rock falls, and last but not the least, the precipitous mountain paths...The "198 schools, 249 tents" is a milestone achieved against the severe weather by all of the JEN staff. It was not an easy path.

    The laughter of the children whom returned to school, the villagers' broad smiles and words of appreciation-nothing can be a better reward for us.

Landslide

The rainy season has set in.  Heavy rains have been hitting everyday over the JEN’s Field Office in the Province of Bagh.  The rainfalls bring frequent landslides and hinder access to mountainous areas.  JEN’s staff removed together with local people a large mass of soil that had blocked roads to our operational field.

To see the situation, the staff took a five-hours drive to an isolated camp of victims of last earthquake.  A landslide deprived twelve lives including children in the camp.  Witness says that a huge flood of earth erupted and swallowed the camp violently.  Rocks and earth avalanched in the village as high as more than one-meter.  Facing the rage of the nature, the staff could do nothing but pray for the souls of the dead. 

Seasonal Foods

   The markets in Pakistan are overflowing with all kinds of in-season vegetables and fruits. Cucumbers, okra, melons, and watermelons can all be bought at reasonable prices.

    Freshwater fish that local children caught in hope of extra pocket money, can also be seen as a "summer food" in the markets.

    In Bagh, where our projects are ongoing, we enjoy such fresh foods as noted above-all curry flavored. Even sweetfish, which in Japan would be broiled with salt, then have some lemon and soy sauce sprinkled over it, in Pakistan they are simply fried-curry flavored.

    The spice and oiliness are, at times, a little too much for the Japanese stomach, but it is such foods that help us survive the 50℃ heat.

JEN Jackets-the latest craze?!

  One March day, as we were putting up a classroom tent at a public all male high school in Kalamula village, we found ourselves surrounded by the village children. We recognized a few of them wearing familiar looking jackets.

    They were jackets distributed by JEN to the children for the winter, as a part of JEN's post disaster education support program. It is hard to see in the photo, but there is a tag that has "JEN" on the side of the sleeves.

    There are 2 sizes; one for 6～10 year olds, and another for 11～14 year olds; and come in 4 colors; green, blue, red, and orange. We passed many more children wearing the JEN jackets on the way back as well.

Who knows, perhaps they may create a new trend?!

The Beginning of School Reconstruction

  From January through April, JEN distributed 249 classroom type tents for children who had lost their schools and were being forced to study outdoors in the harsh, winter air.
From the 1st of May, we began reconstructing 2 public elementary schools in the Bedhal union council of Haveli tehsil. The new school buildings are earthquake resistant.

    Many children believe that the earthquake happened for religious reasons, and the fear that has been so deeply planted in them remain, leaving behind great scars yet to begin healing. JEN, by giving correct information about earthquakes to these children, aims to lessen their psychological pain.

    "I was in the classroom when the quake hit. Suddenly, the ground started violently shaking. All the students were in a panic and rushing to the door; it took time for me to get even near it from my seat at the back. Just then, a part of the wall caved in, and the entire building swayed towards one side. As I was slipping my way through the door, it shut on my leg and thus I became unable to move. I still have that scar today.

    After about 30 minutes in that situation, I heard the voices of villagers, and myself as well as the other students that had been locked up inside the classroom were finally helped out."
－Dhara Khas village　Aziz (11 years old)

Falling Rocks and Landslides

In the city of Palangi of Bagh district, where JEN is currently conducting several projects, there are frequent landslides and falling rocks after continuous days of raining. The land made loose from the past earthquake has only made matters worse.
The other day, we were caught in a traffic jam that had occurred as a result of a fallen rock completely blocking the road.

Three workers hired by the government, working nearby to widen numerous roads, were brought out to clear the rocks. “Clearing the rocks”—striking the rocks with hammers, carrying the broken pieces with their hands, then hauling them over the cliff—was work that demanded much time and patience.
After a while some villagers began helping out, and we, as JEN staff, whose mission is emergency support, joined in as well. One by one, the drivers and passengers of the stopped buses and trucks also began climbing out, and all began to help remove the debris.

What would have taken at least 4 to 5 hours had there only been 3 people, was finished in a matter of 30 minutes. Automobiles were free to go to and fro once again.
A big round of applause to the locals’ teamwork for saving everybody’s day.