Warsaw, 7 December 2000
Since April 2000 a Permanent Mission of PHO has been operating in Chechnya and Ingushetia, with the head office in Nazran and a liaison office in Grozny.
The main programs of the Mission are:
1. Kindergartens in refugee camps in Ingushetia
2. Safe zones program in Grozny (Chechnya)
3. Emergency assistance
1. The first kindergarten in the Chechen refugee camp in Ingushetia
Polish Humanitarian Organization (PHO) has opened the first kindergarten for the children of Chechen refugees in Sleptsovskaya, Ingushetia on June 16, 2000. Pre-school children in refugee camps are deprived of any care. This prompted PHO to address this problem.
160 children aged between 3 and 6 are attending the kindergarten, which is situated in three tents in the Rassviet Camp.
Children of pre-school age are the most vulnerable and subject to the psychological effects of war. They have lived trough trauma and they are not able to cope with the memories. PHO have employed 16 qualified women to work with children, one co-ordinator and one guardian. All workers are members of local staff drawn from the refugees staying at the camp. PHO plan to open another DCC’s in a different refugee camps. In the end of December we plan to open a next DCC in Karabulag and Grozny.
2. Safe Zones Program in Grozny (Chechnya)
After conducting the assessment in Grozny PHO decided that the most appropriate assistance for children would be to create a safe environment for them and ensure the distribution of hot meals and the availability of professional care. PHO aimed to develop a program that would have a potential to cater for some of the main needs of the population of Grozny as well as some of the more specific needs of the population living in the district. This is why PHO undertook the Safe Zone Program.
The components of the safe zone are:
2.1. Drinking water for Grozny
Polish Humanitarian Organization as the first and only organization is providing clean potable water owing to a new filter installation at the Water Station no. 1 in Zawadzkoje district. The filter is capable of purifying 15 m3 of water per hour and removes mechanical, chemical and biological impurities, as well as radiation effects from the water. Additionally, the water is chlorinated. We are supplying daily 120 m3 (120 000 liters) water to 38 tankers in 20 hospitals, 4 schools and in 14 points to the population of Grozny. The capacity of all tankers is 218 m3.
Hospitals
The medical facilities were our first priority and we are supplying regularly drinking water to all main medical institutions in Grozny. The following table explains our present water supply system involving medical facilities. Before setting up our tankers our set up team checked whether there were any existing tankers which after disinfecting could be adopted by our program. Where we could "save" any of our water-bladders by adopting existing ones (to have them for more needy areas) we had done it.
So far PHO set up and fill up 19 water tankers/bladders at 20 medical facilities and deliver 81,5 m3 of water to them:
- 3 tankers of 10 m3 volume,
- 6 tankers of 5 m3 volume,
- 10 tankers of 1,5 m3 volume,
- Additionally we had disinfected and adopted 3 tankers of total volume 16,5 m3.
Population of Grozny
The private sector is by far the most difficult to supply, as the need in most of Grozny is enormous. To be able to come up with some system PHO had to analyze the situation and chose as top priority the regions where the emergency is the greatest. There is no tap water in the whole Grozny. The only districts where in the pipes in the basements some of the water is available (flowing in the pipes by natural pressure as none of the pumping station work) are parts of Leninskiy and Zavadskoy regions, which are in the lower central regions of Grozny. But none of the water available in the pipes or in the hand pumps or river can be considered a source of drinking water. The pollution of water varies in its condensation but is present everywhere. Northen and East part of Leninskiy region at least has hand pumps. The most difficult situation concerning the water supply is in Staropromyslovskiy district, which has no type of water, it is also the most populated area and furthest removed from water sources. South and East of Oktryabskij Region have equally difficult situation, because of security problems in the region of "Minutka" even private water trucking is rare, the North parts of Leninskiy district (Argun Sovhoz) before we started to deliver water have been dependent on water mixed with sewage.
Following table explains our present water supply system involving private sector. Before setting up tankers PHO team checked whether there were any existing tankers which after disinfecting could be adopted by our program. Where we could "save" any of our bladders by adopting existing ones (to have them for more needy areas) we had done it. The existing tankers which volume is in bold have been additionally adopted by our program, disinfected and used for distribution. (Last time free water was brought about 6 months ago and people were gathering money and buying some once in 1-2 months)
So far PHO set up 5-(10 m3) water tankers for private sector and adopted additional 9 tankers (of total volume 82 m3). We deliver to the private sector 130,5 m3 of water on regular basis.
* the same tank gives water to school No 34 so we included approximate of 8,5 m3 for private sector and 1,5 m3 for school use
Schools
So far PHO set up 3 (1,5-m3) water tankers for educational facilities. We are able to serve only 4 out of 40 educational facilities. We could have set up 1,5 m3 tankers and distribute drinking water to more schools and kindergartens, but we are limited with our production possibilities (our one filter unit can’t produce more water) we also would need more bladders.
* The same tank delivers water to private sector so we included approx. 1,5 m3 for school use and the rest 8,5 m3 for private sector
2.2. The food distribution unit acting as a supplier of the daily hot meals to the most vulnerable population (such as patients in the hospitals as well as attendees of the Safe Zone)
On the grounds of the Hospital no. 9, in the Leninski district, there is a building that once had a kitchen. We have now finished the renovation of that building; which included the reparation of the roof and renovation of the food-storeroom. We also made some bricklayers works, we set new windows, and repaired a large gas-stove. We will soon open a kitchen that will prepare meals for the hospitals, for the children staying in the DCC and for local residents. The meals will be distributed to the same hospitals to which we provide clean water (see table above).
Daily meal production and distribution is a very important component of The Safe Zone Project. PHO assistance will cover the hospitals and children attending the Child Friendly Space. The hospitals in Grozny are not able to provide meals for their patients. They limit their activities to emergency cases and admitting patients who can count on the support of their families. PHO has already ordered a batch of groceries. The meals will be delivered in thermoses and can be carried by the trucks supplying water. This is why the communication between the Water and Food Program Co-ordinators is of great importance.
At the beginning of January we will start to prepare about a 1000 meals daily. Our priority is to distribute the meals in the hospitals and serve them to the children staying at the CFS, yet PHO will provide the remaining meals to the most vulnerable population in Grozny.
2.3. The Day Care Center for Children fulfil the function of the "child friendly space (CFS)"
Initially the PHO planned to open the Center under the tents around the Hospital no. 9, because it is surrounded with a fence and cleared of mines. Due to the possibility of earlier winter we decided to renovate a proper building in School No 34 in Oktryabskij district. The renovation is modest, we are setting new windows and painting walls. We also plan to equip the school with furniture and heaters. There are 11 rooms in which we will locate a kindergarten and a common room for elder kids.
The CFS will cover the overall assistance of 400 children aged 3 - 14 from Oktryabskij district in Grozny.
The most significant problems of those children are malnutrition and anemia and mines. Every day several people are victims of mine explosions. Parents that are clearing the rubble and looking for means of support will be able to leave their children under care.
Apart from receiving hot meal the CFS will provide them with medical and psychological care, the children will remain under the care of qualified educators and will daily get one hot meal. We are preparing series of activities for the children - plastic arts, music, dance lessons, English classes. The teaching program will include mine awareness and health problem prevention training.
Since the majority of children suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological help will be available at the CFS. In case this assistance is not sufficient PHO will arrange access to psychiatric or other specialized help available in the hospitals of Grozny.
3. Emergency assistance
In the beginning of second conflict in Chechnya PHO has requested a special permit form Russian EMERCOM in order to deliver humanitarian aid directly from Poland to the conflict area. We have succeeded on the 13th of January 2000. Since then PHO have delivered from Poland three convoys: 107 tonnes worth U$ 632 940,00.
1st convoy 29 January 2000
The donations (food, formulae and vitamins for children, sanitary articles, blankets, jackets, shoes and children underwear) 37 tonnes worth U$ 91 277,00 were distributed:
In Ingushetia:
Troickoye - Malochno Tovarnaya Ferma SPS (560 people), Karabulak - Karier camp (835 people) Pliyevo - Ingushenergo SPS (461 people), Slepcovskaya - CMY-4 camp (19 orphans)
In Chechnya:
Stanica Assienovskaya for refugees staying out of camps (199 families) and to the Temporary Settlement Camp (1440 people, including 250 Russians)
Alchanyurt - for the hospital and children looked after by the local health care centre
2nd convoy 7 April 2000
The donations (formulas for children, food, mattresses and medicines, medical and rehabilitation equipment (donated by the French Handicap International)) 40 tonnes worth U$ 134 204,00 were distributed:
In Ingushetia
Slepcovskaya - MRO-Rassvet camp and spontaneous settlement MPT
Pliyevo - Orphanage (Rodnaya Semia)
Troickaya - MTF spontaneous settlement
Karabulag - Karier camp
In Chechnya
Grozny - Municipal Hospitals no. 1, 3 and 9, Maternity Clinic I, Republican District Hospital for Children
Aczchoy Martan - Municipal Hospital
Katyr Yurt - Health Care Centre
Gudermes - Hospitals no. 1 and 2
Argun - Municipal Hospital
The rehabilitation equipment was handed over to French organisations (MDM and CPDC in Nazran), operating in Ingushetia.
3rd convoy 5 December 2000
The donations (formulas for children, food, sanitary articles, blankets, jackets, shoes, mattresses, medicines, and wheelchairs) 30 tonnes worth U$ 407 459,00 PHO will distribute in Grozny.
We appeal for help in collecting money for that aim. Payments may be made:
On the account PHO: SWIFT PANK PLPW 11101109-401100001919 PBK S.A. w Warszawie, 25A Towarowa Street, with postscript "Heaters for Grozny"
By credit card through the Internet page www.pah.ngo.pl
Polish Humanitarian Organization
5, Szpitalna Street apt.3
00-031 Warsaw, Poland
tel. +48.22.828.88.82
fax. +48.22.831.99.38
www.pah.ngo.pl
E-mail: pah@pah.ngo.pl