UN-Built Earthquake-Resilient Houses Inaugurated in Southeastern Afghanistan
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) inaugurated part of the 700 dwellings constructed this month during a ceremony in the Barmal district of Paktika province, in southeastern Afghanistan devastated by the deadly earthquake.
Senior UN officials, community leaders, and the Kazakh ambassador officially inaugurated 700 of the UN’s earthquake-resistant homes as part of the 1,300 shelter project on December 15, according to a UNHCR statement released on Saturday.
At the handover ceremony on Thursday, 15 December, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov said, “We came here for the people of Barmal to give you a hand in a difficult time.”
The newly constructed UNHCR homes, which were created after resident consultations, according to the statement are furnished with stoves for cooking and heating as well as solar cells and batteries for lighting. The buildings feature a kitchen, two rooms, and a bathroom as well.
“The whole world felt the pain of this village, the world gave you immediate life-saving support,” said UNHCR Representative Leonard Zulu.
The impacted regions of Barmal, Spera, and Gayan have been included in the UNHCR’s Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration (PARR) initiative, according to Leonard Zulu of the UNHCR.
UNHCR is currently constructing flood retaining walls and wells in addition to the road infrastructure needed to connect villages, while also intending to build schools for boys and girls as well as health centers in early 2023.
The UN constructed homes for the Afghans impacted by the devastating earthquake that rocked the southern Afghan provinces of Paktika, Paktia, and Khost, killing nearly 1,000 people, including 300 children, and destroying more than 70% of the region’s residential structures, leaving people homeless.
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