Pipe Scheme and Hygiene Promotion Project in Kunar Province The proposed project is aiming to provide long-term solutions to the community needs of portable water, poor hygiene, and women’s protection. The proposed project is a pipe scheme and hygiene promotion project. SEARCHO is based in Kunar and knows the needs and issues around WASH needs of the communities. SEARCHO, however, conducted a detailed needs assessment to identify the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene needs of the communities. As a result of the assessment, the prominent needs were clean drinking water, and lack of community toilets. The other issues around poor hygiene, and women and girls protection are by default in the target communities. We have designed the project in response to the current and critical needs of the communities. 

The project will construct 8 pipe schemes that will provide clean drinking water to the target communities at their doorsteps. Currently, women, girls, and children are bringing water, as indicated in the assessment report, from locations that are very far and insecure from a protection point of view. The pipe scheme is a longer-tern and durable solution to the needs of the community. The project will construct 26 community toilets in the three districts to reduce environmental contamination and also reduce health diseases in the most vulnerable people of Nari, Dara-e-Pech, and Nurgal districts. The project will also distribute 2400 hygiene kits to the most affected and vulnerable households in the communities to take care of their hygiene and will also raise community-level awareness-raising on hygiene promotion, clean environment, women’s rights, and prevention of gender-based violence in the target communities (120 community sessions will be conducted on hygiene promotion and Covid prevention, and 120 community sessions on GBV, women's rights, and women's protection).

The project is designed based on the following needs and gaps identified in Nari, Dara-e-Pech, and Nurgal districts by the detailed assessment conducted from Jan 18, 2022, to Jan 23, 2022:
	Dire need of clean drinking water 
	Lack of WASH facilities and Water Supply Systems 
	Poor hygiene and health condition 
	Low knowledge of hygiene
	Low knowledge of women’s rights, women’s protection, and GBV
	Poor malnutrition 
	Poor knowledge on the issues caused by open defecation  

Considering the needs listed above, SEARCHO will respond to the critical and urgent needs of clean drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene, and awareness of women's protection. These were the most critical needs among the listed needs. The project will directly benefit 25374 people through its services of pipe scheme, hygiene kits distribution, and community awareness-raising on personal hygiene, women’s rights, and gender-based violence. The project will be implemented in Nari, Dara-e-Pech, and Nurgal districts of Kunar province. These districts were with the highest needs in Kunar province, these districts were recommended by the regional cluster, and Kunar Directorate of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD). As mentioned above, SEARCHO then conducted a needs assessment to identify and confirm the specific needs in the target communities in these three districts.  

SEARCHO has been working in Kunar, Nuristan, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces since its inception. The organization has however implemented projects in other provinces – currently implementing a project in Balkh province – but the major focus of our intervention is the eastern region because of the high needs, marginalization, and remoteness of the areas. 

SEARCHO has good access, good relations with community elders, and good relations with local authorities which will ensure successful implementation of the project.  In addition, SEARCHO has systems, policies, procedures, and competent human resources in place to ensure the successful implementation of the project.