Panjshir PRT helps Panjshir Valley stand on its own

05.18.2007

Courtesy Story

AFN Afghanistan

By Senior Airman Brian Stives
American Forces Network – Afghanistan

PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afghanistan — Many coalition forces personnel may take something as simple as electricity or even education for granted; however, for some Afghans, these are life-changing gifts.

With the help of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team from Bagram Airfield, villagers in the Panjshir Valley will be able to enjoy some of life's simple pleasures.

With more than 20 construction projects currently underway in the valley, the Panjshir PRT is helping more than 400,000 Afghans build a better life for themselves and future generations.

"We are currently working on a 100-kilowatt micro hydro power plant for one of the villages in the Panjshir district," said Air Force 1st Lt. Lee Turkotte, Panjshir PRT civil engineer project manager. "This will allow them to create electricity from the river running through the valley."

The contract for the micro hydro is contracted out through local business owners, which serves two purposes.

"The people in the Panjshir district are very reluctant to let outsiders in the district, so they are not really willing to help them," said Turkotte. "We have found out that if the people here know who is working on the project, they are more willing to help them. They also help us because they take more ownership of the project; if they see something they don't like, they will talk to the contractor themselves. Basically, they are acting like an additional inspection team for us.

"The second thing, having a local do it helps the Afghans become self-sufficient," said Turkotte. "The people who are building the micro hydro will also be able to take care of the maintenance and basic upkeep of the facility — which is what we want them to do. We want them to be able to see that their own people are responsible for the upkeep. It shows them their government is working for them and allows us the opportunity to leave them."

This project also allows the villages to create revenue, which will also make them more self-sufficient.

"One of the villages in the valley has actually started charging customers for their electricity use," said Turkotte. "They charge the customers $1 for every light bulb in the house. They then take that money and pay the workers at the micro hydro to keep it running. This keeps the money in the valley and also allows them to upgrade the system when they need to, without worrying about how to pay for it in the future."

Another project the Panjshir PRT works on is building schools throughout the valley.

"We just had the ribbon cutting ceremony for a girls' school with 16 classrooms," said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Roger Smith, Panjshir PRT engineer section. "The school will hold about 400 students in three shifts, so they all can get their educations.

"We have found that (getting) an education is really important to the Afghans. Many of the children will walk for an hour or two just to get to school," said Smith. "So, we are building as many schools as we can, so the children don't have to walk so far. The provincial governor said the children have it much easier now, because he would walk almost four hours each way to get to school."

While the Panjshir PRT has many projects working to improve the quality of life for villagers in the Panjshir Valley, they are also instilling in them a way to stand up on their own without the help of coalition forces.

"Making life better for the people of Afghanistan is what the overall mission of any PRT is — and making sure they can sustain that life after Coalition forces leave the region is what we are doing in the Panjshir PRT," said Smith.

• Date Taken: 05.18.2007
• Date Posted: 05.18.2007 08:57
• Story ID: 10445