Photo By Master Sgt. Christopher Marasky | U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Adam Priebe, a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., uses the ACOG...... read more read more
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan- For the people of Mazar Valley in Kunar, seeing local Afghan police or American soldiers isn’t a particularly new sight, but seeing a provincial leader doing spot checks was.
The welcome sight was that of engineer Mohammad Raheem, Kunar Provincial director of Public Works, providing quality assurance checks on a newly-built road, the first of such visits to the area.
Part of the mission for Provincial Reconstruction Team Kunar is for engineers to team up with local Afghan governmental officials and to work together in building new construction projects, according to Navy Lt. j.g. Kimberly Herm, a PRT Kunar engineer.
“Historically, as engineers, our main job has been to administer contracts and to oversee construction of projects in the country, from the cradle to the grave,” she said. “Now a lot of new processes have been put into place so that we are going through the government, and ensuring we aren’t just giving them projects we think they need, but are involving them in the entire process.”
The importance of bringing in the local officials has long-term ramifications according to Herm.
“We can build schools, but if we don’t get them involved now, when they need more schools or renovations to schools in the future, you haven’t created anything sustainable,” she said. “What we’re doing now is guiding them in taking over the process, and thus giving them long-term sustainability.”
The process now includes all contracts going to Kabul, many of which have been placed on the new budget going forward, ensuring that Afghans will be leading the way in many construction projects in the future, a vital step according to Herm.
“By every project going all the way up to Kabul, it ensures that all the proper ministers are involved, such as the Minister of Education or Public Works,” she said. “This helps ensure that later down the road, the government will provide the money needed to maintain these projects over the long term.”
Projects such as the Mazar Valley road construction, which was initially started by the PRT, will be continued in the future by the Afghan government. These projects are a major success according to engineer Raheem.
“We truly appreciate you having started this project, and now that we can take over, it’s a big achievement for us,” he said.
As the PRT begins to transition from the role of managing the projects to that of helping and providing oversight, the importance of capacity-building is critical, and one that the local government is very thankful for, according to Raheem.
“It is a great help that the PRT has provided us some facilities, and helped us build up our capacity for the future,” he said. “Things such as providing training for our junior engineers are very important.”
Beyond capacity building, another way that the PRT has aided the local government is by coordinating visits to locations such as road projects, and incorporating local Afghan National Security Forces, such as the police, in the visit.
“It had a very big effect on the community when they saw me,” said Raheem. “I was able to go and speak to them directly and get their suggestions. With this team, we are going places that we haven’t been before and it’s a great achievement.”
That sense of achievement is also shared by members of the PRT, who are glad to be able to help lay the ground work for future success in Kunar.
“I love going out and seeing new things and new people, and I love feeling that we’re contributing to something that will improve this place,” said Herm. “We’re making progress so that when we do leave Afghanistan, we’ve left something here that’s a good foundation, and just being able to see that progress is a good thing.”
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2012 02:21 |
| Story ID: | 87945 |
| Location: | KUNAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 476 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Building a future, PRT Engineers assist local Afghans, by MSgt Christopher Marasky, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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