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KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Kandahar provincial and Zharay district government officials participated in a series of ribbon-cutting ceremonies, Nov. 16, in the Howz-e-Madad area of Zharay district, in a full day of events designed to show the security and governance gains made in a former volatile area near the birthplace of the Taliban.
According to Niaz Sarhadi, Zharay district governor, this was the first time that health, education and security facilities were opened on the same day in Zharay district.
Dr. Abdul Qayum Pokhla, the Kandahar provincial director for public health, and Abdul Basir Agha, deputy director of education for the Kandahar Ministry of Education, joined with Sarhadi to officially open a school, clinic and new police patrol station that will serve a population of nearly 1,000 people in the area.
The group began the tour at a newly-constructed police patrol station just north of Highway 1, which was built by soldiers from Combined Task Force Spartan’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and 710th Brigade Support Battalion. The three-building complex includes administrative space and living quarters for police officers stationed there.
Afghan police officers and District Chief of Police Masom Khan encouraged residents in the area to go to the police station to report crimes and provide information about criminals operating in the area.
Khan, Sarhadi, Col. Abdul, commander of the 1st Kandak, 3rd Brigade, 205th Corps, and the commander of the local Afghan civil order police cut sections of the ribbon at the station, officially opening it for the community.
From there, the Afghan government officials and coalition security forces walked the length of the Howz-e-Madad Bazaar, a thriving marketplace that is one of at least five bazaars along Highway 1 in Zharay district.
While at the bazaar, the group was joined by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, the deputy commanding general for Support for Regional Command South and the 82nd Airborne Division, who met with three recipients of microgrants distributed by CTF Spartan. Microgrants are small monetary grants issued to business owners and shopkeepers to grow their business or hire more employees. Sinclair spoke with the three shopkeepers about security gains in the area, as well as opportunities for improving the bazaar.
Moving across the street to the refurbished Howz-e-Madad clinic, one of three being opened in the Zharay district, Pokhla and Sarhadi each gave speeches about the government providing proper health care facilities and providers in the area.
“This clinic’s opening is just another sign that the governments of Kandahar province and Zharay district are providing for the needs of the people and bringing them basic health care services,” said Sarhadi.
The clinic has three treatment rooms, and medical providers there will also teach classes in childbirth and disease prevention to women and families in the area.
Finally, the group moved to the Howz-e-Madad school, where nearly 100 schoolchildren were lined up outside to greet the government officials. The school’s principal gave a short speech highlighting the need to educate children residing in the province.
“The children you see lined up in front of you are the future of this district, this province and this region,” he said. “Schools like this will allow us to teach our future.”
Once the speeches were complete, school officials and Abdul Agha, the deputy director of education, led a tour of the school’s classrooms and playground. The schoolchildren who gathered outside all received backpacks, school supplies and soccer balls.
The commander of coalition forces in the area, Lt. Col. Kenneth Mintz, said ceremonies throughout the day highlighted the most important gains in security and governance.
“The various opening ceremonies featured four of the most important initiatives and provided a testament to the progress in Howz-e-Madad,” Lt. Col. Mintz said. “Additionally, the events subtly expressed the criticality of continued [Afghan government] support and involvement to ensure that these efforts are sustainable and enduring.”
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2011 02:39 |
| Story ID: | 80256 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 299 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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