By Sgt. Matthew Clifton
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SALAM KHAIL, Afghanistan – The governor of the Paktya Province, village elders and the commander of the Gardez Provincial Reconstruction Team gathered here March 26 to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony marking the beginning of construction for a new schoolhouse.
The ceremony is the product of months of planning and coordination between the Gardez PRT, Task Force Fury and the Paktya Province government.
It will still be a few months before the school is ready to open, but when it does, it will provide basic education to many Afghan children who live in the village, said Army Sgt. Merrill White, civil affairs, Gardez PRT.
"We did a [humanitarian aid] drop last summer and the elders expressed a need for a school in their district," White said. "After they came to us it was our job to start the process of seeking funding for a school in that area."
There was a very deliberate process that had to be followed to ensure the school would be built.
"In situations like this, the village elders or director of public education usually proposes the project to us," said Air Force Lt. Col. Tracey Meck, commander, Gardez PRT. "We had to discuss where the school would be built, who owns the land, how big of a school is needed and numerous other specifics."
After the PRT surveys the proposed site for any factors that might conflict with construction, they must find out how important this project is on the list of priorities the governor of the province has.
"For example, there are 132 schools that need to be built in Paktya alone," Meck explained. "Why is this school more important than the 131 others? So we ask the Afghans what their priorities are."
This project was chosen because of how well the security and cooperation with the government is in the district, Meck said.
"We wanted to do something for them to show that we and their government appreciate how well they work with us," she said. "They do not allow the enemy to work in their area, so this was basically a thank you to them."
Meck remembers when she first arrived in Afghanistan the village was not getting a lot of support because of how secure it was.
"We were putting a lot of money into the areas that had enemy activity," she said. "We had always told the people that security brings reconstruction, so the people of Salam Khail were feeling lied to."
Therefore, the school was built to show that their government does appreciate and support their efforts, she said.
The school is only the beginning of a major plan to help reconstruct the village. A major hydro-electric power plant has recently been approved for Salam Khail.
"The plant will be strong enough to supply electricity for one thousand homes," Meck continued. "This is a project that will really set up an economic foundation for them."
The reconstruction of the provinces in Afghanistan will not be completed over night. It is important to just keep chipping away at them until the job is finally done, White said.