(A view From Kabul City)

To: American Red Cross

From: Sayed Mahmood “Mahmood”

SESA Project Manager

ACBAR Office Kabul, Afghanistan

SPHERE EXTENSION SERVICE FOR AFGHANISTAN (SESA)

A Program to Support Dissemination and Implementation of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response

Annual Report for the Year 2003

1- Background

The Sphere Extension Service for Afghanistan (SESA) project aims to improve the assessment, analysis, design and delivery of humanitarian projects by NGOs, UN Agencies, Government, and other humanitarian actors through a better understanding of the Sphere approach and guidelines. As part of the project, it was intended to hire tow Afghan trainers who would receive extensive training and instruction in Sphere guidelines, applications, and training techniques. The team will then provide tailored training sessions and technical assistance to NGOs, UN agencies and host government authorities based upon identified needs. The SESA team will also demonstrate to sector specialists how to analyze assessment information in relation to Sphere indicators, monitor the process of translating the Sphere handbook and related training materials into both Dari and Pashto languages, and introduce the Humanitarian Charter and Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct into these principles and on notions of equality in service provision, participation and concepts of gender integration. A Sphere Project Master Trainer will also have three visits from Afghanistan and provide intensive instruction to the team, as well as the trainers travelling to a ToT conference. A final evaluation of the project will be made towards the end of the project term.

The Picture Shoos Transportation and Colleting of Drinking Water In Afghanistan

Kunduz Province, Provincial Governor at the Opening Ceremony of the Sphere Project Introductory Workshop In Kunduz Province.

2- Accomplishments to Date

The SESA team has conducted Thirteen Sphere Project Introductory Workshops for different Agencies, and as well the team has conducted three Sphere Project Clinics with Oxfam, PRB, and Afghan Aid (Badakhshan). Since the Sphere Project is very new for the Afghan organization so the Sphere Project Clinics were not applicable with most of the Agencies. The details of the workshops participants and name of agencies are included in Excel sheet as Annex I

The Seventh Sphere Project Introductory Workshop Participants Group Photograph

3- Material Development

The workshop training material has been translated from English into Dari by the SESA Trainer, as difficulties were experienced in locating a suitable qualified translator. Initially, UNAMA were going to undertake the responsibility of translating of the Sphere Project Handbook into Dari, but their project did not take place. After placement test to the selected translators one of them was succeed to get the translation of the handbook into Dari. It was anticipated to do the translation and printing of the Sphere Project Handbook in Mid April 2003 but, due to difficulties did not. It took almost five months to get the handbook ready.

Mercy Corps in Quetta, Pakistan are managing a program involving the translation of the Sphere Project handbook into Pashto and Urdu and they agreed to allow SESA project to use their Pashto translation (Pashto is spoken at border of the two countries.) The SESA team take the opportunity and ordered the Pushto Sphere Project handbook (1000 copies), which has reduced the cost of the book and now the team has the Sphere Project handbook in two national languages.

The team has ordered 200 volume of the English version from India and received it in June 2003. (for the English Speakers)

The Workshop Participants during Working in Jalalabad Centre of Nigharhare Province

Each Sphere Project Introductory workshop participant was given a copy of the book and extra books have been given per official request. The team has given out the books to the following organization as follows:

No.	Organization	Number of Books	English	Dari	Pashto
1	ARIC, ACBAR	6	2	2	2
2	Intersos	12	12
3	Office for Disaster Response	114	4	50	60
4	Afghan Red Crescent Societies	92	2	40	50
5	AHDS	2		1	1
6	Helping Afghan Farmers Organization	6	2	2	2
7	UN (MSP)	12	4	4	4
8	UN (NSP)	3	1	1	1
9	AREA	3	1	1	1
10	Ore – Techs	2	2
11	Japan International Cooperation Agency	3	1	1	1
12	International Medical Corps	11	1	5	5
13	Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance	50		25	25
14	Terre des hommes (TDH)	10		5	5
15	Church World Service (CWS)	2	1		1
	Total	328	33	137	158

The above mentioned books have been given per official request or per individual requests. Apart from these English books has been given at the individual meetings to the meeting participants. The volumes reach to 68.

4- Networking and Outreach

The SESA team has met with number of Organizations to introduce the Sphere Project minimum standards. The purpose of the Standards is to improve the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disaster, and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in Disaster response and accountability in their Project or Program implementation. International NGOs (Ecumenical Office Christian Aid, MDM (France) ICRC (Herat), ADF, DACAAR, Concern, CARE, IRC, NAC, Oxfam, Intersos, Save the Children, USAID and Novib) and national NGOs (ADA, AIL, AREA, CoAR, CHA, PRB, Ore – Techs, Afghan Aid (Badakhsahn), HAFO, Afghan Aid (Herat)), and as well with the government Deportments (Disaster Preparedness Department, Ministry of Public Health (Kabul), Deputy Governor (Badakhshan), Kunduz Governor, Deputy Governor Takhar and Afghan Red Crescent Societies).

5- Staffing and Resources Development

Difficulties were experienced in recruiting the SESA Trainer and the project Assistant due to lack of available Afghan suitably and qualified staff. The jobs were advertised three times and the first trainer who was recruited in January 2003, he is granted from his position with leave of one year without payment from Christian Aid in Heart. Another Trainer was recruited in February 2003, but he stayed for Fifteen days only. The project faced difficulties to recruit the trainer for the second time, so we had to follow the procedure for recruiting the trainer (Experienced suitable and qualified staff are limited in Afghanistan, because of competition by both UN and NGOs for the experienced and qualified Afghan staff). Finally we were able to recruit the trainer on April 16, 2003. The same difficulties were experienced with recruiting the Project Assistant. The first one left the job in May 2003.

6- Project Constraints

The project commenced slower than expected and was hampered by the difficulties experienced in recruiting the two SESA Trainers and the project Assistant. There is stiff competition by both UN agencies and NGOs for experienced and qualified Afghans with training experience and field experience in Sphere application. There were also difficulties experienced in finding a suitable translator in Kabul and this considerably delayed the translation of the Sphere handbook into Dari. Non availability of the English version of the Sphere Project Handbook as well delayed the project, we had to order the book from India (reasonable cost) and it took some time for shipment and authority clearance (get clearance to be used within the country it had to go to the Ministry of Culture and Information to get permission).

7- Budget Consumption

The budget is under spent because the team was trying to find suitable price for the cost for each item lines although in the printing we have printed the books into two languages and we have order the English version from India so it decreased the cost and the training material has been translated by the SESA team. In the budget it was anticipated to purchase two Multimedia Projectors to be used into the Workshops. Since the SESA team was going to the provinces as Group so it was decided to by one, but heavy duty.

Attach please see the Excel sheet for the budget consumption.

8- Plan for Next year (2004)

One of the SESA Trainers has left the Project due to mentioned competition between UN and NGOs for the qualified and experienced Afghan staff so we again are facing the difficulties in finding a qualified staff to be able go give training. The plan for the next year is to have 15 Sphere Project Introductory workshops in year 2004 and we will have 20 Sphere Clinics and as well we will continue meeting with NGOs individually too. According to our plan we will have 20 individual meetings in 2004 with different organizations (UN agencies, national NGOs, International NGOs and Government Authorities). The workshops will be for the provinces that we were not able to cover in the yare 2003 and as well those provinces where still there is need to hold the Sphere Project workshop. (Some of the provinces are subjected to security)

ACBAR office will try to contact other donors if they are interested in the Sphere Project Handbook translation, which has been revised and will submit proposal for that and also will contact with UNAMA if they can do this.

Sayed Mahmood “Mahmood”

SESA Project Manager

Tel: 93 (0) 70 29 38 40

93 (0) 20 22 00 208