PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team members, government officials, village elders and Community Development Council members attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for a footbridge and a retaining wall in Anaba District, Afghanistan, May 16.
“Both projects were joint projects the government, CDC and PRT worked on together,” said Anaba District Gov. Gulam Hussein, through an interpreter.
The bridge provides driving and walking access to Kapisa province through Darband Pass for more than 6,000 villagers.
“Without the footbridge, school children and travelers would have to walk three miles upstream to use the vehicle bridge to get to the other side of the river,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua O’Keefe, PRT civil affairs section lead, and Athens, Mich., native.
While the Zamankur Footbridge will open access for pedestrian travel, a retaining wall built for the Froj Bridge will continue to provide a main supply route for vehicles.
“Building a retaining wall for Froj Bridge was a need for the village,” said Hussein. “The bridge continues the road for people living on the other side.”
The retaining wall began to erode after last year’s flooding.
“If erosion of the retaining wall continued, there was a likely chance the road would eventually flood preventing access to the bridge,” said O’Keefe.
Once the project was presented to PRT engineers, they conducted a site survey.
“Our government cost-estimate for the project was more than $80,000,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Brian Jackson, PRT engineer lead, and South Haven, Mich., native. “Due to the administration process, it would’ve taken months to obtain that amount of money.”
The PRT gave $5,000 for temporary emergency relief to protect the wall from continued erosion. The villagers used $3,000 to move the debris and used the other $2,000 to start building the retaining wall. Later, the PRT supported the finishing of the project by providing additional funding through permanent relief funds.
“The next time we visited the project site, the villagers explained they only needed $5,000 to finish the project,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Hakan Togul, PRT civil affairs lead from Crete, Ill. “The emergency relief money was to be a temporary fix, but these villagers used what they had and found a permanent solution,” said Togul.
During the ceremony, speakers expressed gratitude for the PRT’s assistance and the work of the villagers to complete the project.
“We appreciate all of the hard work done by the people who worked together to complete this project,” said Hussein. “We hope this retaining wall will last forever.”
While the government gave funds and resources, the villagers provided supplies and labor.
“These projects are textbook examples of the Afghan government, villagers and the PRT working together for the development of Panjshir,” said Togul.