Save the Children Situation Report # 21 February 7, 2006

Distribution in Ghani Abad Village, Bagh. Save the Children provided 306 families in the village with shelter kits, plastic sheeting and tin sheeting along with distributing warm clothes to 370 children.

Photo by Save the Children Staff

I. To date, Save the Children has: • Provided more than 33,000 families with training and materials to construct shelters. • Distributed 180,669 Corrugated Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets. • Distributed 15,679 sets of warm children’s clothing, including 2,000 school uniforms. • Distributed 139,568 blankets/quilts. • Opened 130 safe play spaces benefiting more than 9,000 children. • Opened 79 temporary learning spaces with a total enrollment of 5,082 students and supported communities to construct 72 transitional schools. • Treated 1,1422 patients at the Bana Field Hospital, including 29 deliveries. • Constructed 41 community kitchens at Meira Camp. • Constructed 2 livestock barns at Meira Camp accommodating more than 150 cattle.

II. Weekly Overview

• Save the Children has launched cash-for-work opportunities for women in Meira Camp. Five women are being paid to construct stoves in the community kitchens. More than 50 women at two community sewing centers are making baby blankets, which Save the Children will purchase and distribute to infants in the camp. • Save the Children began a Rapid Rural Child Protection Assessment and continued the Urban Child Protection Assessment in Muzaffarabad. So far, 6 villages of he initial 9 selected have been completed. • Save the Children established 15 safe play spaces and seven temporary learning spaces this week. • Save the Children’s safe play spaces in Muzaffarabad have seen a marked increase in attendance and gender balance due to more structuring of activities and the parents meetings held.

• Save the Children staff assessed the need for shelter winterization and tool kits among 1,235 households in Batagram and distributed toolkits provided by Oxfam to 1,047 families. • Save the Children identified 4,222 children for provision of warm clothing sets in Bana, and Biara union councils in . • Save the Children staff assessed the need for Corrugated Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets, food and shelter kits in Allai. The found that the need for CGI is increasing have requested a further supply of 12,000 sheets. Of 75,000 sheets received so far, more than 67,000 have been distributed to 6,365 families in Allai.

III. Response Education • The weekly education cluster meeting was hosted by Save the Children in Batagram this week. • Save the Children education staff met with the District Education Administration and distributed a computer & photocopier equipment donated to support to the Education Department. • Save the Children completed logistical assessments of 24 sites for construction of semi-permanent classrooms in Muzaffarabad. • In partnership with local communities, Save the Children began construction of two additional transitional schools in Siran Valley, Mansehra. • In Bagh, Save the Children assessed three schools were for interventions in Bagh Town, established eight school management committees were formed this week and distributed seven school clearance kits and 13 UNICEF school in box kits. • Save the Children education staff monitored visits of six safe play spaces in Phase-I of Meira Camp along with safe play spaces and temporary learning centers in Batagram and Allai tehsils. • Save the Children distributed school bags and books to 44 students in Meira camp. • With support from Save the Children, Strengthening Participatory Organizations held a three-day Teachers’ Orientation in union council, Batagram tehsil.

Protection • Four safe play spaces were established in Meira Camp this week benefiting 309 children. • One new Safe Play Area has been established in Japan Camp Tandali, Muzaffarabad, managed by Al-Mustafa (a local partner). Induction training has been given to the supervisors and the security guard. One Safe Play Area in Lower Plate, Muzaffarabad, has been closed down temporarily. • A new safe play area was opened in Bount, in Bagh Town. Meetings were held with the community about the project and candidates for the safe play space supervisors were interviewed. • Nine adult supporters and 43 young facilitators were trained to manage safe play spaces in Meira Camp and .

• Save the Children established two community protection committees in Arja and Mohri Camps (Bagh) and monitoring of safe play spaces and community meetings with communities have been ongoing at a number of camps.

Health • Construction of the Children’s Health Unit in Siran Valley, Mansehra, is expected to be complete next week. • Save the Children’s Emergency Nutrition Specialist, visited Bana Hospital and some of its catchment area to develop a proposal for the provision of emergency nutrition. • This week, the Bana hospital has seen:

Male Patients 1,481 Female Patients 1,041 Total 2,522

Deliveries: 3

Breakdown of cases seen at the hospital this week

Disease Percentage Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) 28% Gastroenteritis 9% Scabies 5% Injury 4% Antenatal 4% Other 50%

Livelihoods and IDP Camp Support • Save the Children established two new sewing centers at Meria Camp. There are now a total of four community sewing centers where 108 women receive instruction from eight trained seamstresses hired from within the camp. • Women using the community kitchens have completed stoves in two recently shifted kitchens and begun constructing stoves in two more. To date, 12 women have completed 57 stoves. As a pilot program, energy efficient stoves were installed in three community kitchens. • Save the Children staff completed January payment to all cash-for-work beneficiaries. • Meeting with community leaders regarding camp closure was held. • Save the Children staff visited Karakar village in Batkool union council where the community had requested cash-for-work programming to construct a road construction and clear rubble from girls’ school.

Current cash-for-work enrollment

Cash-for-work project No. employed this week Camp upkeep/cleaning 12 Walking track construction/maintenance 125 Barn maintenance 5 Sewing center instructors 3 Sewing center security 4 Road construction 17 Camp security 30 Water pump construction 30 Stove Construction 5 Total: 216 * The number of labor engaged varies daily; the total number of laborers shown here reflects an average attendance.

• Save the Children completed baseline assessments of livelihoods needs in AJK and issued a report. Key findings include: o Relief effort has had a significant impact in the region, saturating some areas and local markets. o A significant impact on local economies through support to shopkeepers is both viable and necessary in order to reduce further problems next winter in terms of credit provision / access to basic food needs etc. o Only 5% of the community suggested cash payments as a viable livelihoods support program – it is clear that the cash distribution will broadly support basic needs. The impact will not be measurable and the assessment concludes that more than 50% of the cash would be spent on stock piling resources for permanent housing. o Following this assessment, there is an argument for changing our livelihoods program to support revival of the local economy.

Shelter, NFIs and Food Cumulative Shelter and NFI Distribution

NWFP

# House- House Shelter Quilts/ Plastic Tehsil holds Tents hold Kits* Kits** blankets Sheets Batagram 3160 3160 1260 0 15800 3160 Allai 10845 0 9782 10845 48514 10325 Oghi 600 200 600 400 3000 600 Kala Dhaka 5350 2800 5350 2550 26750 5350 Total 19,435 6,160 16,992 13,795 94,064 19,435

*Five quilts/blankets, cooking utensils, warm clothing and a stove **Building tools, nails and a plastic sheet

Azad, Jammu and Kashmir

District Tents Shelter Plastic Tin Family Children’s Kitchen Stoves Kit* Sheet Sheets Kits** Clothes Set Bagh 980 3,841 3,329 38,060 3,670 7,222 1,193 415 Muzaffarabad 783 7,727 7,105 53,380 6,955 457 6,895 6,800 Total: 1,763 11,568 10,434 91,440 10,625 7,679 8,088 7,215 *Tools, nails and wire strapping **4 Quilts and 2 Baby blankets

Azad, Jammu and Kashmir • Save the Children completed assessments and registration for a new ECHO- funded project. 1,000 vulnerable families living above the snowline have been registered for shelter and blankets; 2,500 children were identified for distribution of children clothes; 1,500 families who received stoves from Save the Children and live above 1,200 meters have been selected to receive charcoal.

Mansehra District • This week, Save the Children distributed blankets to 500 households and warm clothing to 331 children.

Allai Tehsil • This week, over 23,000 CGI Sheets were distributed to 1,645 families. • 645 winterized kits have also been distributed in union council . • 2,548 families were provided a three months food ration in Bana, , Jambera and union councils in Allai. • Save the Children assessed the food needs of 2,500 families in Allai this week.

Media contacts: In : Erica Ahmed +92-300-8545605 In US: Mike Kiernan 202-460-0614 Kate Conradt 202-294-9700