In the Shadow of the same Sun

  During the assessment in UC Panj Pir in Swabi District, JEN staff visited a house and started to interview a lady, during the interview an old man entered the room, and he was not feeling well and upset at that time. We asked him that why he is upset.

  He replied that “it is my second day that I am going to IDPs registration point to register my family to receive food and other support. However, there are thousands of people waiting in the queues for registration. Old people and women have problems to register themselves because the weather is too hot and we have to stand and wait in the sun for many hours but still our turn is not coming. There is no rain and the weather is extremely hot.  Many people became unconscious due to hot weather. “

  Those people belong to the cold areas of Swat, Buner and Kalam. Thousands of tourists were going to those areas in summer holidays because there were a lot of picnic spots and the weather was always very pleasant in summer.

  Old man said that “I was working in his fields back in Swat for many hours under the same sun, but I didn’t feel hot. Now, environment around us is different from past time. We don’t have enough food to eat, beds to sleep on, and pans to cook food. We don’t have fresh water of our springs and we don’t have our sun which isn’t hot.

  I am sure that I will not be registered and I will not receive any support from Government and Organizations. “

  JEN staffs who were doing assessment felt that he would be supported by distributing supplies even if they were not registered with the government.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

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=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

Brave Lady of Swat

I started to work with JEN as one of field assistants from last week. I am from Swabi and before I was working with a local organization. I found it very interesting to work with JEN, because I have chance to talk with community directly and I can know about their problems directly. During the assessment in UC Narai in District Mardan , I visited a school where a few IDP families were living in the school building; the situation there seemed getting worse. They told us that they feel us like angels, which will be supporting them in the future.

There I met a woman who leaded her family. She said that she has 7 children and her husband is disable who can’t earn enough money. They had a shop in Swat where the center of the conflict.  That shop was the only source of their income and after becoming IDPs, no more income for them.
She told me her good experience after coming in Mardan. “When I realized the life condition which was getting worse in Mardan, I thought to start some work to support my family, but I didn’t have any resources to start work. I contacted the local families. One lady asked me if I could sew women’s clothes. I replied yes, so the lady from the host family gave me her personal sewing machine, threads and needles. I started to make the clothes of local women and they paid me enough money. I am very happy because many ladies in the village are contacting me to make their clothes. Now I can buy food for my family and medicine for my husband. It is all because of the kindness of local families, who helped me a lot. Without their help, I was unable to use my skills to earn money. “

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

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=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

This River is coming from my home

  The conflict between militants and Pakistani army is ongoing in NWFP of Pakistan. Swat is one of the battlefields.

  The people of Swat who grown up with enjoy drinking fresh and cold springs and glacier water. They were eating balanced diet in Swat which contains fruit, milk, meat and other important items. It is one of the reasons that their average quality of life is richer than the people living in the cities or downhill areas. 

  Swat is high altitude area, so it is always pleasant in the summer. Thousand of tourists from the other cities of Pakistan were coming with their families to enjoy the wonderful weather, long glaciers, beautiful lakes and vast green valleys.

  There are several rivers and streams in Swat, which extend the beauty of this area. The water of those rivers and streams is coming down to Mardan and Swabi , where JEN has started the support, and it is used by the people of Mardan and Swabi for farming and drinking.

  An old IDP man who lives along the river said

“whenever I see this river, it makes me sad and happy.”

He also said

“This branch of river is starting out from the glaciers of Kalam (swat) which is my hometown. People were using this water for farming, drinking and taking bath in our hometown, I miss my hometown. However, I am happy because I can still use this water here in Mardan although it is 100 Kilo Meters far from my hometown. It is not clean for drinking, but still my children and other people can use the same river to take a bath and at the same time it irrigates thousands of acres of fertile soil of Mardan and Swabi.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

DONATE NOW!

=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

No Boundary Between Countries

   I have been working in JEN Islamabad office for 3 months. It is the longest duration of my work here in the office. While it is nice to work together with office colleagues in the beautiful office, at the same time I miss that time of my field work.

  With JEN I spent my time as a field staff srrounded by the mountains, valleys and rivers of Kashmir and in the rugged areas of Baluchistan. Our previous field team reached to 25 people at one time for the peak period, when we had several different projects going on in Kashmir.

  We had both International and National staff, always working together. The atmosphere was always very nice, no matter how hard to deal with the projects. We were learning from each others, we were eating together and we were always joking with each others in night time.

  Sometimes, our other colleagues from Tokyo Headquarters had come to the field. That was a precious experience to work together with people from different back ground : TOKYO HQ international staff, Japanese International Staff in Pakistan, Pakistani national staff, and Kashmiri local Staff in the field.

   It was very encouraging to work in field together with the colleagues from Tokyo HQ and International staff in Pakistan. However, today, it is getting harder and harder for international staff to come to the field in Pakistan, due to the current volatile situation across the nation.

I miss at that time of working with my colleagues from Japan, Pakistan and Kashmir. Then, I hope to work together in the field again in the near future.

Concern of a mother

  Many people in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) fled their homes and came to the safe cities of NWFP.

  Topics of conversation among people who live in an IDP (Internal Displaced People) camp in NWFP, where JEN has assessed potential needs, are about their health, security, and future jobs. Education for children seems serious concern particularly for their mothers. Due to a shortage of schools for children, not all children are able to go to school.

  When JEN assessed needs there, JEN staff met a woman who lost her husband and has 2 sons and 3 daughters. She said “In addition to a lack of schools, some societies are not supporting girl’s education. However, my sons and 2 daughters luckily go to school although one of my daughters doesn’t do so because of her age. When my daughters could not go to school yet, they were quite envious of other girls going to schools.

  Then I wanted to let them go to school.” She also mentioned “I lost my only house and am not living in my village now. However, the thing I am concerning most is that my children cannot continue their studies in their school due to the unstablity here.”

Victims of Bajaur

  The conflict between militants and Government Security Forces started in Bajaur Agency and some areas of Mohmand Agency in 2008. Both the parties are justifying themselves as they are winning, in connection with defeating opponents from each side, but what should be kept in mind is that the majority of people affected physically and economically in fact are the poor innocent villagers.  The local Jirga (tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by compromise) has been resolving their internal issues, and the decision has been happily acceptable by both the parties.

  Those agencies are situated in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) of northwestern Pakistan. FATA has an exceptional administrative and political status from the British times since 1849.  The people have lived with their traditions and internal independence. This unique system is activating even today.

  But the recent conflict has brought many changes in the areas. Many people fled their homes and came to the safe cities of NWFP. Some people are living in the IDP(Internal Displaced People) camps but much of that displaced population are living outside the camps with their relatives or in rented houses.

  JEN in Pakistan has assessed the potencial needs in NWFP, and seen a bit of reality of the people living in this area. In the camps they have the tents which are lack of rainproof. It looks they are short of medical facilities and schools for their children’s studies. Although some organizations and Government are working hard to implement the support, but still there are many gaps to be covered.

  An old man whom I met in an IDP camp said “Summer is approaching and people don’t have fans, enough water to take a bath or cold water to drink. It will be the worst summer of their life.”

  He said that he will not return to his village until he will be 100% sure about the safe and peace in the area.

  No one knows what is the future of those displaced people come along? JEN is going to continue needs assessment in this area.

Victims of Bajaur

  The conflict between militants and Government Security Forces started in Bajaur Agency and some areas of Mohmand Agency in 2008. Both the parties are justifying themselves as they are winning, in connection with defeating opponents from each side, but what should be kept in mind is that the majority of people affected physically and economically in fact are the poor innocent villagers.  The local Jirga (tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by compromise) has been resolving their internal issues, and the decision has been happily acceptable by both the parties.

  Those agencies are situated in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) of northwestern Pakistan. FATA has an exceptional administrative and political status from the British times since 1849.  The people have lived with their traditions and internal independence. This unique system is activating even today.

  But the recent conflict has brought many changes in the areas. Many people fled their homes and came to the safe cities of NWFP. Some people are living in the IDP(Internal Displaced People) camps but much of that displaced population are living outside the camps with their relatives or in rented houses.

  JEN in Pakistan has assessed the potencial needs in NWFP, and seen a bit of reality of the people living in this area. In the camps they have the tents which are lack of rainproof. It looks they are short of medical facilities and schools for their children’s studies. Although some organizations and Government are working hard to implement the support, but still there are many gaps to be covered.

  An old man whom I met in an IDP camp said “Summer is approaching and people don’t have fans, enough water to take a bath or cold water to drink. It will be the worst summer of their life.”

  He said that he will not return to his village until he will be 100% sure about the safe and peace in the area.

  No one knows what is the future of those displaced people come along? JEN is going to continue needs assessment in this area.

Marriage after disaster

  The marriages in Baluchistan are very interesting. People are doing a lot of arrangements for this event.

  Groom’s family, relatives and friends are preparing for the event one month before. Females and children are wearing new clothes and they start to celebrate the marriage almost 3 days before. The women are gathering in the Groom’s and bride’s house at night and singing together with the beat of drums, although this area is considered to be a conservative Muslim area, but still they show their joy and happiness in that way. The food for the marriage is rice with the sheep’s meet and curry.

  As the other regions, here in Baluchistan also Groom and bride can see each others after they agree verbally, that they accept each others as a couple in presences of Molvi (a religious teacher) and two or three witnesses. Bride and groom are mainly selected within the family or tribe.

  There are a few cases of love marriages, but it is highly dislike by the parents and elder community. The divorce rate is too low.

  In many villages, men are celebrating the marriage with traditional dance called ATTAN, which is national dance of Afghanistan and very common in Pashtun tribes of Pakistan. The dancers which are friends of groom and some professional dancers move in circles while clapping their hands to the rhythm and spinning around.

  All those information I got from the local people while working in those areas, but in my presence I saw two marriages, one was in Quetta and other was in Ziarat. I didn’t see any ATTAN dance or other celebration in the marriage at Ziarat; it was due to the sorrow of earthquake. People said they are happy but they can’t show their happiness in the way of dancing and singing, because they remember the people who were killed by the earthquake a few months ago and they remember their houses which were destroyed in the same earthquake. Now they are living in the shelters and tents provided by the humanitarian agencies.

  It is sad that the people can’t celebrate their weddings in their traditional ways due to the disaster, but at the same time it is encouraging seeing that they didn’t stop the marriage ceremonies and still doing that social and spiritual union of individual; even they don’t have proper rooms for living, but they use JEN tent as a room for this good purpose.

Apples of Balochistan

  The sweeping valley of Ziarat district in southwest Pakistan, hit last year in October by a powerful earthquake, is famous for its Cherry and Apple production. All the orchards filled with golden and green apples.

  But the 6.4-magnitude tremor that destroyed homes and killed up to 300 people also felled many trees, robbing local apple industry workers of their livelihoods at a time when the sought-after crop was nearly ripe for harvest.

  Ziarat region is the largest apple and Cherry producer in Pakistan. It is the biggest source of income of the local people for the whole year. 

  Farm owners are hiring local poor people as a labor for those farms; most of those labors are JEN beneficiaries. They are working in the farms through out the year for different purposes. In January, they plough the fields. In February and March, they are spreading locally prepared animal dung in the farms as a urea.

  This process continues until the blossoms appear in the trees. The farmers are saying that, this is the most difficult stage for them. They are praying for the good weather. If it will be raining heavily and windy, it will break the blossoms, if there is no rain and a little rain, it also causes problem for the upcoming crops. There is always been shortage of water in Balochistan. The farming totally depends on the rain water. If there is no rain, it means the water will be short in the locally made dams. Once the blossoms will changed into fruits, the labors regularly put some chemical spray on the apples.

  When the apples are ready in the month of August, they are plucking it from the trees and packing it in the wooden cartons. Another team of labor is loading it in the in the trucks. This plucking, packing and loading process is continuing until December.

  Pakistan is one of the largest apple producing countries in the world and production of Apples in Balochistan covers 70% of the whole production of Pakistan. District Ziarat and District Pishin are the main areas of this production.

  The earthquake has destroyed many orchards in the affected region and rendered many people jobless and deprived their owners of their earnings. All the organizations worked hard to provide the basic necessary items to the affected population, but it will take time to gain, what they have lost.

Innocent Hussein

   Jackets Distribution for the children in affected areas of Baluchistan is over. We couldn’t do the distribution as we planned, because of various reasons. We planned with the teachers that JEN will give the jackets just to the school going children, because we knew that they are suffering from cold. The jackets will not only keep them safe from cold, but it will make them encourage going to the schools after that big earthquake.

  All the things were organized for the distribution in the school. We realized that the number of students were more then the lists. We saw many children who are not registered at School, but they were sitting in the queue to receive the jackets. It was a big problem for us at that time.

  While we were asking the teachers “why the extra students are there? We don’t have enough jackets to distribute. We have to distribute it to the other schools as well”; we didn’t realize that a little boy Hussein was standing besides us. He said that he will also come to study at school soon. We asked him “are you sure about it? And what is the reason of it”? He said “yes I will ask my father to admit me in the school tomorrow, because my friends can have such nice gifts in the school. If I come to the school I will also have such nice gifts”.

  All the JEN team mates discussed the issue with each others, if we will ignore many children like Hussein, of course they will feel bad and maybe they will loose their interest in the school and studies.
We also discussed about the other students who will not receive the jackets because of the children like Hussein.

  At last, we decided to skip the schools which are located in the villages, where JEN had already distributed relief items during emergency phase, we were lucky that we haven’t announced the distribution to the children of the skipped schools yet.

  We gave the jackets to happy Hussein and other children who will join the schools from April this year.
To face this kind of problems are common in the field and sometimes it is very difficult to decide what to do.

  Maybe Hussein or one of his friends will be Doctor in the future…………

Rooster Flying, not fighting

   Nowadays we are conducting interviews to children and communities for the upcoming projects. We see some interesting things every day.

  There are a few questions about children’s entertainment and sports activities in our interview sheet. We have received the same answer from every child. They say "No proper playground, No sports items". After receiving those answers, we urge them to tell us the proper answer, because it is impossible to see that all the children in one village will be living without any entertainment or sports activities.

  In the end, children who were gathering around our vehicle brought us somewhere. What we saw was... a little far behind their houses, where many children gathered in a plain small ground and some of them were playing marbles (small balls made by glasses). There were some competitions going on among the children. Every one was playing with concentration, it was encouraging to see that earthquake didn’t affect the children mentally and they are still enjoying their free time.

  At the other corner of the ground, we saw some children playing wtih a strange game. They were throwing something weird... We know that rooster fighting was an popular entertainment in the ancient time of Indus Valley Civilization by 2000 BC and still popular in many Asian countries and some Latin American countries. But, the sport in District Pishin was not what I know, we moved forward to the children and saw naughty game I have never seen. It was Rooster’s long jumping competition. Have you heard of it?

  Many children were standing in line holding their roosters. They look serious. Moreover they were throwing their roosters in the air after the whistle, and the winner is..... the rooster which touched ground the farthest. How cruel is it!?! Children were enjoying it a lot, same as we were enjoying the ancient sport. I asked an older boy if their parents know about it? He said "Of course NOT! We are catching our roosters in the evening before they go back to the home. And coming to this ground to play with it." I asked how they thought about this cruel game. He said they don’t have foot balls, cricket, balls, volley balls, that’s why they are playing with this. They made a compromise in their way. I asked if they have foot ball, bats and balls, will they stop to playing this game or not? The boy replied "Yes! we stop to play this rooster jumping."

  Later I was thinking, Whether or not, Let them play or make them play with the so called proper toys, that is the question..

It is difficult to decide.

Look forward to hear your opinion at info@je-npo.org,

Thank you.

Importance of winter clothes

  While we were busy in the distribution of Non Food Items and erection of the tents in District Ziarat and Pishin, we came to know that JEN’s donors in Japan provide some more funds for the neglected people who are the earthquake victims in Baluchistan. We had to research and decide in the field at the point - almost, that what would be the best usage of that fund.

  After looking around and monitoring the situation for almost 15 days, we observed that there is a huge need of winter clothing for the people, especially women and children. People are very poor in the area and they didn’t have good warm clothes even before the earthquake. But their houses were livable before the earthquake, so they could manage the cold weather without winter jackets. The earthquake made the things worst for them; they not only loosed their houses but also their beddings, clothing and kitchen items.

  Many Organizations are working in the area but no one thought about the importance of providing the winter jackets to the children. They gave priority to provide the shelters and foods to the affected people, which are of course the basic need after any disaster, but at the same time we should not forget the importance of winter clothes. The weather in the earthquake affected areas will remain cold until April and the people don’t have proper clothing to fight with the cold. It is making their lives more difficult.

  Thanks to our supporters and JEN Tokyo HQ who took the initiative to provide winter jackets to the children. The winter jackets will not only keep the children safe from the disease which cause due to cold, but also they will wear it for their schools, which will open in the first week of March. It will be nice to see the children wearing Jackets.

The Certificate; Completion and Success

  When we arrived to the earthquake affected areas for the first time, we saw the situation was very bad due to the desaster. People were panicking and running towards relief trucks here and there. Many organizations were distributing their relief items and tents on the main roads. But those items were not enough to meet their needs, because 1) the weather was already too cold and 2) the tents which they were receiving were not well equipped for the winter. But as it was an emergency, NGOs were distributing the available items stocked in their warehouses as soon as possible.

  JEN started the distribution mission from the village Choongi Bala. Houses were damaged; people were living in the normal tents, children were shivering with cold at night. After JEN distributed NFIs and erected Winterized tents, people relived that they will have some normal place to live at least, in the coming winter season. After we completed the first distribution, the villagers had prepared their traditional lunch of Laanday (Dry meat of sheep) for JEN staff. At that time, as it was soon after the earthquake the people were in deep trouble and we didn’t feel good to eat lunch there, but we were compelled to eat as per their tradition.

  After 2 and half months when we completed the last phase of distribution (wheel barrows) in the same village, the villagers again prepared lunch for JEN staff, the food items were the same but our feelings and beneficiaries feelings were different then the last time. Our feelings were nice because we could see that villagers are now in their normal life. They are still living in the winterized tents and shelters, but they are comfortable at night, their children don’t get sick anymore due to cold. In many villages the supply of Electricity and Natural gas has repaired, and where ever the supplies are still not working, they have the heating and lighting facilities provided by JEN.

   When we were leaving the village, an old man stopped our vehicle. He smiled, thanked and prayed for us. I discussed with my colleagues that the smile of this old man is the certificate of our project completion and success.

Balochi Traditional Dresses

Balochistan is very famous for its traditional items, like Shawls, Bugti Shawlar and Kamiz, many kinds of Balochi Shoes and traditional decorated caps. All those items are hand made and showing the rich Balochi culture.

Traditionally, female member of family are doing embroidery on shawls at home. After the completion, sold to the big markets. It is a source of their income. The best available shawls are worth Rupees 2000/- which is equal to 25 USD.

Bugti Shalwar and Kamiz is the dress of Baloch tribe. All the people here are wearing it. Bugti is also the name of a famous Baloch Tribe. It needs a lot more amount of fabric to make this Shalwar and Kamiz, compares to common Shalwar and Kamiz of Pakistan, Baloch people also wear big turbans on their heads with this dress.

Balochi Caps are also one of the main components. Rich people matches the color of the cap with the color of their clothes. It applys very beautiful embroidery on the cap with the small pieces of glass. Those are available in the market and the rate is between 320 Rupees (4 USD) to 1500 Rupees (19 USD).

The main interesting outfit for men is Balochi Shoes, which are available in many designs and colors. It is indeed very comfortable and stunning. There is a big market for these locally made shoes in Quetta. People are making the shoes in their shops after measure the size of customer's foot.

There are also many ready-made shoes, but they are not as comfortable as made on order according to the size of foot. Soles of the shoes is made by strong rubber tyre, and other part is made by Sheep’s leather. Because of its strength, it is ideal to walk on the tough terrains and mountains.

JEN staff is using these shoes for the field by all means. 

My 3 years with JEN, Part II

  I am enjoying my work with JEN, because all of my officers listen to our suggestions and opinions, and they try to share with us everything they know. We are free to use our own ideas for the project. If we make some mistakes during the implementation of project, instead of getting upset, they give us suggestions on how to improve our skills and how to avoid from those mistakes again. In my opinion, it is the best way to learn something.

Although, sometimes it is tough to work because of the difficult areas, less sleep, no food etc, it is kind of sacrifice for the people in need, so we put aside our personal problems. This spirit motivates us to work harder and harder.

Currently, we are working in Baluchistan for the earthquake affected people. This area is totally different from Kashmir in terms of culture and living style. Kashmir was close to Indian Border but it was ceasefire with India, so no worries about any war within. Also, people in Kashmir were not such conservative like those who in Baluchistan. For example, there were no walls around the houses in Kashmir, and the operational area in Kashmir was not so far from our residence. But in Baluchistan, things are totally opposite. The operational area is located near Afghan border, which is always in a tense, which causes us to take extra caution. On top of that, the project area is 110 km away from our residence, it means that we have to travel 220 km back and forth every day. The people here are very religious and conservative. They have big walls around their houses.

We mobilized and respect the community's culture, rules, and regulations in our mind. This way, we'd be accepted and appreciated by the community. And that was perhaps the reason why JEN was the first INGO which was allowed to enter the area by the community in the early days of earthquake. Not only that, we were even invited to take the photographs of inside their houses.

Community participation with JEN looks quite good, too. Our work seems to  be appreciated by not only the local people, but also local Government authorities. DCO (District Coordination Officer) invited JEN staff for lunch at his residence, the other day. As a result, our project in Baluchistan was featured by several Urdu newspapers.

I would like to thank our supporters and hope all of our projects around the grobe in the future will run smoothly, same like the project in Baluchistan. 

My 3 years with JEN

I am Azmat Ali from Pakistan. I started to work with JEN since October 15th 2005, after the massive earthquake in Pakistan. Previously I was working with international organizations. At the time I joined JEN, I just completed my one and half year diploma course in Japanese language.

After the earthquake, I wanted to go to Kashmir or NWFP as a volunteer for rescue work. Then, I got a phone call from my friend who was working with JEN already as an interpreter that JEN is seeking for the staff. I thought it is the best and organized way to work for the people in need. So, I contacted JEN and went for interview, and then JEN selected me for the post of field officer.

I was so much impressed in Kashmir, after spending 1 week of work with JEN. The scope and environment of work were totally different from the other organizations, which were working in the same area for emergency relief. The international staff with whom I was working was very professional and hard working. They didn’t care about the time, food, nor weather, but their mission was very clear that just to provide assistance to the people in need as soon as possible.

I was working with the field staff, but at the same time I was also in touch with the Staff working in Islamabad office. I was wondering if the Japanese female staffs in Islamabad were working until 3 am or not!!! So, after experiencing all those things, I also tried to work like them. I don’t know if I am succeeded or not... But I am still trying my best.

to be continued...

Children of Baluchistan

During our mission in Baluchistan, we observed that many children of our beneficiaries help their fathers in their businesses, especially in the shops, in the public transport and for taking care of their apple farms.

We met Shakeel Khan. He is helping his father's fruit shop. He said that it is the only shop his father owns and the only source of their income. He is the eldest son of his father, age of 11 and he has 2 sisters and 1 brother.

Every day after he returns from the school, he goes to the shop to help his father for selling the fruits. He said his father wakes up very early in the morning and goes to the fruit market to buy fruits to sell for the day. Father definitely needs some rest in the afternoon, so he sells fruits on behalf of him from the afternoon till the evening.

We asked him about his studies and homework. He said he brings text books with him to the shop, so that when there is no customer, he can study and do the homework. He said that he loves sports and he likes cricket by all means, but he doesn’t have a time to play because of the shop. Instead of playing sports, he said that he enjoys his work in the shop. On Sunday and other holidays are the exceptions.　He enjoys playing cricket with his friends in the morning time.

Shakeel said that his house and his school were both damaged by the earthquake, but he is not so scared of it. Although his brother, 2 sisters and mother are sleeping in the tent provided by JEN, his father and himself are sleeping inside the partially damaged room due to the earthquake. However, in order to rest well, they keep the door open and sleeping near to the door, this way, even though another earthquake occurs, or increase the scale of earthquake, they can run outside immediately.

Best use of Sheep

  People here in Balochistan are eating dried meat in the winters. According to them, this meat can keep them warm during the cold weather. The process of drying the meat is very interesting. (pix:  Drying the Laanday meat of sheep)

1. First they slaughter the sheep and then they remove the skin with so much care.
2.  They remove all the organs from the body. They make pieces of the meet, fats and bones and paste a lot of salt on it.
3. They hang the peaces in the sun light. In the night they put some clothes and Plastic sheet on the meat to keep it dry from the due. They are keeping it in the sun light for at least 3 months. When it becomes crispy it means it is now eatable.(pix:  Drying the fats part of sheep)
4.  They cook some meat in the winters after every 2 days. And if they have any guests they cook that Laanday meat for them. People in this area are so much hospitable. The important thing is that they don’t use cooking oil or Ghee to cook this food; they cook this dish in the dried fats of the sheep. It tastes fantastic. When JEN staff is going for assessment or distribution to the villages, a lot of villagers are insisting to present cooked Laanday meat for us. But it is very difficult to eat it every day, because it needs a very strong stomach to digest this strong meat. (pix: Cooked Laanday food)

Laanday is their traditional food in the winters. They don’t eat this food in the summer, because it is very heavy and hot.(pix: Local made Jerry can made by sheep leather (Mashkeeza))

The removed skin of sheep is also very useful for them. They stitch all the holes of the removed skin except the hole of throat with strong thread. When it is ready to use, the women are bringing it to the springs and wells to fill the water in it. It keeps the water cold in the summer and keeping it warm in the winters. The water doesn’t freeze inside in it in the minus degrees temperature. (pix: Local made Jerry can made by sheep leather full of water (Mashkeeza) )

Emergency Assistance for the Balochistan earthquake started.

   JEN confirmed the necessity of emergency assistance and started to conduct the aid on November 11th.
　
JEN has sent its local staff members to the devastated areas to support the victims of the Magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit Balochistan region on October 29th.

JEN operated investigations and needs assessments for understanding the current situation and needs for the damages in order to operate aid activities in the region.

At the same time, JEN's staff also participated in conferences together with related organizations and conducted information gathering.

The victims who live in destroyed houses in the devastated areas have been forced to spend hard times outside in the bitter cold, even below freezing at night.

There will be areas where cannot be accessible due to the weather in winter and JEN confirmed that the assistance are needed as soon as possible for the victims who wait for emergency aid.    

This emergency assistance with the support by Japan Platform (JPF) and the individual donors will conduct distribution of tents and living wares over winter for 500 house units in the devastated region of Balochistan. JEN also plans to distribute tools with which the victims can fix their houses by themselves and sanitary kits.

We look forward to your support. Click here for donations made by credit cards.

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BREAKING NEWS: JEN has started first investigations on the earthquake.

Staff members of JEN Pakistan have arrived in the earthquake affected area and have started first investigations.

The results will be reported sometime next week.

（Photo：Staff members in gathering information atJEN's Islamabad office）

BREAKING NEWS: Huge Earthquake Hit in the western Pakistan

The local office of JEN, in Islamabad, Pakistan has been operating to gathering and analyzing the information and evaluating the possiblities of the necessary support.

The huge earthquake hit in mountain areas in the western part of Pakistan in the morning of October 29th. 

There are expected to be the large number of victims in the devastated sites of the earthquake center.

JEN (both Pakista and HQ in Tokyo) has been gathering and analyzing the information in case that  local emergency assistance are desparately needed.

A Unique Pakistani liquid

Since October, Pakistan has been celebrating a holiday called “Eid”, which represents the end of Ramadan. Instead of talking about the JEN project in Pakistan, today I would like to introduce you to the unique liquid that is drunken during Ramadan. The bottle shown in the picture is called “Roohafzaa” (Soul Refresher), and it a juice of a mix of many concentrated fruits. The box next to it is called “Ispaghol” which is an extract of traditional herbs. People usually drink this with water when they have a stomachache.

The JEN staff made me the “Roohafzaa” juice on Iftar (the dinner after the sunset of the day during Ramadan). It is simply a mix of “Roohafzaa” with water, and has a lot of “Ispaghol” on the top, as a garnish or more likely a finish touch. I knew “Ispaghol” as a medicine for the stomach, so first, I thought it must be taken like medication; however, this was the usual way of drinking “Ispaghol”.

There are many people who have a stomachache after Ramadan starts. It is possible that this original drink may be drunk and developed over a long period from the experiences of their lives.

School Construction/ Furniture Distribution is now Complete

Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, other organizations and individual supporters. JEN has completed construction of 6 schools in UC Kalamura, Haveli County, Bagh Province.

These schools are built to resist against earthquakes using light steel structure. In addition, with the contribution from Feliccimo Corporation and BOOK MAGIC participants, JEN distributed school furniture such as desks, chairs and black board sets.

After the local Education Authority permitted to start the schools, there were many children that burst into new and clean classrooms. The representative from the Education Authority came to visit schools, and spoke to children about using schools cleanly. Then, senior students have guided younger ones to not do graffiti on the school wall.

The project provides children with education in a comfortable environment without being affected by monsoons, rains, winds, severe winters, snow or earthquakes. JEN appreciates wholeheartedly those who have continuously supported the project.

Kashmir’s MOTTAINAI (Don’t Waste) Spirit

JEN’s motto is to support those who are in the hardest to reach, or live in the most inaccessible areas.
Haveli in Bagh District, located in a remote area which can only be reached after passing many mountains of Kashmir (AJK) and unpaved rough roads, is an example of a region that needs support to recover from the earthquake.

Most of the cars you can see in Haveli are trucks such as jeeps and 4WD.
Among the types of passenger cars, the 1974 model of the Toyota Collora is especially prominent, as seen in the photo.

This car is exhibited in an automobile museum in Japan as a classic car; however, people in Kashmir still use it with the same body but they change the engine into diesel which is economically better for gas-consumption.
It still runs smoothly and strongly on the roads of Kashmir. Isn’t it wonderful of Kashmir people to keep using the same cars for 30 years?

What about the JEN Pakistan team?
JEN moves through the mountain roads in a 4 WD instead of Toyota Collora, continuing to bring support from Japan.

In Order To Provide A Better Educational Environment

Thanks for the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, organizations and individual supporters, JEN is constructing 6 schools in UC Kalamula, Haveli county, Bagh district. These schools are reinforced to resist earthquakes with light steel structure. One school can accommodate 40 students.

Students are forced to study outside even though it's raining, snowing or severely windy. After the completion of the construction, all 240 students can get education under a safer and more comfortable environment.

All the schools are located in the middle of mountains far from the main roads. As a result of this, JEN has to work hard to separate all the parts of the school building into pieces, and bring them to the construction sites piece by piece, then putting them back together.

JEN looks forward to welcoming children to start going to these schools as soon as possible, and continues to provide assistance for a better educational environment in the earthquake-affected area.

Do Kashmir boys like Make-up?

JEN conducts hygiene and sanitation education projects in Haveli, Bagh.
In order to prepare for this project, JEN is now interviewing teachers and students.
Based on the result of these interviews, JEN is going to reform the content of training about hygiene and sanitation education for teachers and the content of the workshop for the children.

With this, JEN found an interesting things about Pakistani culture.
The boy in the picture wears eye-liner below his eyes.
This is called “ Solma” in which he wears special black stone powder around his eyes.
This is effective to have a better eye sight, and also by wearing it while sleeping, it reduces the pain from having red eyes.
You can’t see this much in the capital city of Islamabad; however, it still exists in a place like Haveli which is located in high altitudes under the severe sunshine. 

Close to 60% Pakistani children’s cause of death is due to unsanitary water.
We hope that through the spread of knowledge by hygiene and sanitation education, JEN will make a tremendous contribution to the community.

School Support through BOOK MAGIC

Thank you so much for those who contributed to the BOOK MAGIC program. Thanks to your support, we were able to provide Pakistani children with floor mattresses for their school. As a result, 6380children at 54 schools can now continue their education in a better environment.

Because the project zone, Bagh, barely has any desks and chairs for the students, children sit on the ground directly to study. Especially during the severe winter time, it is hard for children to concentrate on studying, moreover, many children became sick because of the coldness.

JEN provided mattresses to an Islam school, which gets hardly any support from other organizations, and other schools mainly schools locating closer to the border. Some of them never got support before other than JEN, and therefore not only the teachers and students but also residents of the region also thanked this contribution deeply. JEN would appreciate your continuous support for BOOK MAGIC in the future.

When in Pakistan, do as the Pakistani do

The season for mangoes has arrived once again here in Pakistan. The mango season in Pakistan is from May – September, and you can see mango sellers in all part of Islamabad. There are about 150 different types of mangoes in Pakistan, and any one of them is said to be the ‘best in the world’.

During the season, when you visit the house of our staff, you will be presented with a mountain of mango. ‘It is polite to eat all the mangoes on the plate!’ I was told by the local JEN Staff member, and therefore I ate mangoes every day until I was full.

In Pakistan, it is possible to buy mangoes from only JPY20. In comparison, the cheapest mango you can buy in Japan is about JPY300. For those who love mango, this country is a paradise!

The 3rd Earthquake-Proof School Now Complete

Thanks to the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, World Conference on Religion and Peace Japanese Committee, and other organizations and individuals, JEN has completed the building of the third earthquake-proof school in Haveli, Bagh. JEN had the handing-over ceremony inviting the school teachers and the now 110 excited children who will get an education in the new classrooms.
 
JEN’s projects, not only the ones that concern the construction of schools, are always done through the cooperation of so many different supporters. Especially in this project, JEN got the greatest support from Tobishima Corporation. Cooperation from local people and teachers were of great importance as well. As the construction of the schools were completed, we received a letter of appreciation from the local government. 

JEN would like to continue our projects to provide a safer and more comfortable environment for children to receive an education.

Education for Children Affected by the Earthquake has Begun

Thanks to the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, other organizations and individuals, JEN will start a new project to support improvement of education in Bagh. The project began as JEN signed the contract in the Japanese embassy in Pakistan on May 30th. This news was broadcasted on the Pakistani national newspaper and on the internet.

Through this project, JEN will build 6 light-steel structured schools and provide hygiene and sanitation education in Haveli, Bagh, especially in the areas where there is poor accessibility. We will conduct this construction under the great cooperation of the local people, parents and teachers. In addition, we will encourage them to manage the maintenance of the schools themselves after the completion of the project. For hygiene and sanitation education, JEN places importance on psychological care as well. JEN would like to utilize group discussions and plays to make learning more enjoyable. 

JEN will continue to provide assistance to the local children in Bagh who are suffering from the earthquake by supporting an education in a safer and more comfortable environment.

Meaning behind of Distribution

Recently, the Field office in Kashmir, Pakistan received requests from schools. That is a request for helping them install tents.

Reconstruction of schools in Bagh district has been late severely, so as a temporary measure other organizations distributed tents kit which can be used as class rooms in the fiscal year 2008.

The students have received the new tents, however they do not know what to do with them even though they have an instruction paper in one hand, because they have never set such large sized tents by themselves.

JEN also distributed tents for schools from January to April in 2006, as an emergency assistance just after the earthquake hit in the area in Oct 2005. JEN set the tents in cooperation with the villagers and JEN has been periodically monitoring afterwards and doing repairs.

This time the tents are not the ones which JEN distributed, however JEN has been helping the
villagers to set the tents together by the request from the school.
　
One may image “Distribution” is just to “give objects”. However the distribution of JEN is not just “carrying objects”.  JEN always cares the feelings of receivers or users when purchasing or distributing.

And JEN considers that distributed objects can encourage local people's independence.

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 Reconstruction of the Third School

After a holiday known as the Festival of Sacrifice, New Year is approaching Pakistan on December 21st, slightly earlier than the Japanese New Year. It is the coldest season of the year and the mountains in Kashmir are covered in snow as usual.

Supported by the Foreign Ministry and our supporters, JEN has been reconstructing schools that collapsed following the earthquakes in Haveri, Bagh. During these freezing days, JEN has managed to complete the reconstruction of two schools.  This school will be the third school reconstructed as earthquake-proof.

JEN is currently laying the foundations of the building, which is essential for sustaining an earthquake-proof design. Unlike the two schools that have already been reconstructed, this school is located in the middle of the mountains and therefore will be functioning under very difficult conditions. We are proceeding with the project so that the children are able to go back to school as soon as possible.

Finally Completed Using Three Pillars

It has started to snow on the project site in Pakistan again this year. It has been the third winter for the province of Bagh in Haveli County since the earthquake. The project that JEN has been carrying out was introduced in a local newspaper. In the article, appreciation for JEN was mentioned for carrying out the project immediately after the earthquake. It also described how the education environment for children had dramatically improved as a result of water and hygiene projects within schools supported by JEN.

Finally, the water and hygiene projects for 120 schools have been completed. The projects are executed under the guidelines of three pillars; first, temporary toilets, next, improvement and maintenance of water supply systems and finally, hygiene education. The children used to drink water and wash their hands at a distant river or a spring near the school. However, they are now able to have lessons without interruption by such inconveniences. In addition, due to the hygiene education provided alongside the installation of toilets and water supplies, the health condition of the children has been improved.  For instance, the number of children suffering from diarrhea symptom has significantly decreased.

Disaster Prevention Education Workshop

   Supported by the Foreign Ministry and by our supporters, JEN is carrying out disaster prevention education workshops in Haveli County, in the Province of Bagh. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supplied textbooks for disaster prevention education for this project.

These textbooks are cute picture books written in Urdu. The content is easy to understand, even for little children.

JEN has been carrying out seminars for teachers about school disaster prevention in Haveli County in light of the earthquake.  This project includes instructions of some evacuation drill methods and first-aid skills, making the contents more practical. In addition, not only the teachers, but also the students and local people participate in this seminar. It aims to spread disaster prevention knowledge.

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 Message from a Student

　The Girl’s Primary School Luyan Karsan was completely destroyed by the recent earthquake; however, thanks to JEN’s efforts to rebuild the school, now one teacher and 87 girls can resume their education again.

This school is located on the top of a steep hill, and it can be reached after climbing a rocky mountain for 20 minutes far from the main road.  Although you must climb this steep mountain n order to meet these girls, these cheerful girls are always there to welcome you.

Here is the message from Anisa Ata, 10 years old, who goes to this school. “When I recall the earthquake, I feel too sad to talk about it. I like the Urdu class the best. I love the school JEN built for us because it keeps us warm during winter, and we can keep on studying on rainy days as well.”

Haveli has lots of rain throughout a year, and there is also heavy snow along with severe weather in the winter.In order to receive an education, it is necessary for children to have places with a roof. JEN will keep on working on future projects in Pakistan, including rebuilding schools.

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.