In Kapari Community in Khost Province, many area wells had stopped functioning, causing a desperate need for potable water. Residents were forced to walk long distances and collect water from rivers and streams. The unclean river water caused frequent illness in the community’s young children, and a high portion of people’s income was spent on medicine and medical treatment for their children.
To address this problem, USAID’s Afghan Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation (SWSS) project constructed 25 bore wells throughout Kapari that are currently providing potable water to 8,000 beneficiaries. Villagers are committed to maintaining their new infrastructure, which is very important for sustainability of the new wells.
SWSS seeks to increase access to potable water supply and sanitation services in poor communities, decrease the prevalence of water-related diseases through household hygiene interventions, and improve the sustainable management of potable water. The SWSS mandate is to build 1,800 wells throughout the country in its first year of operations to provide potable water to thousands of households that are currently suffering from waterborne diseases.