Millions more are displaced within Afghanistan, unable to leave their country and unable to obtain humanitarian assistance. The United Nations organization has called this "the greatest humanitarian crisis of the decade". Many of the refugees have fled their homes with nothing more than the clothes on their back. A number of them do not have any shelter at all and face blistering 50-plus degree Celsius heat in the summer and minus-zero degree Celsius cold in the winter. There are others who live in flimsy tents that provide little protection against the elements. The luckier ones have been provided mud houses by relief organizations like the Christian group Shelter Now International, but these lucky ones are few because of the lack of funds. In these camps, the refugees have no bathing facilities, little food, and are afflicted with numerous diseases, especially infectious ones. The efforts of medical organizations to help the refugees are insufficient in the light of the sheer enormity of the refugee numbers.
CREST Involvement
School Rehabilitation :
Partnering with Crosslink Development International (CDI), to rehabilitate schools in Shebreghan and Mazar-e-Sharif districts. This involved rebuilding and repairing school buildings and supplying schools with desks and chairs, blackboards, books, writing materials, etc. Along with that, teaching English, children's ministry, conducting medical clinics, providing a soup kitchen and drilling and installing a well was done in each school.
Teams Sent Out
Medical Team sent 19th - 29th November 2001
Team sent 28th May - 11th June 2002
Team sent 11th - 25th June 2002
Team sent 25th June - 9th July 2002- Construction of Bathhouses for Afghan refugee camp Shamshatoo CREST first sent team into Shamshatoo Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan (a camp with about 70,000 refugees) for 2 weeks with "Greater Love" (An American team) to wash and de-louse the hair of hundreds of children. They also scrubbed off the scabs and drained the pus off from the skin of hundreds of children with impetigo, a horrible skin infection. After realising the extent of the problem there, CREST went on to sponsor the contruction of the first bathhouse and first month's maintenance cost. The bathhouse has 50 cubicles and separate sections for women and men equipped with a wash area for washing of clothes. It costs US$5,000/- to build a bathhouse comprising 50 cubicles, and US$1,000/- per month to maintain each bathhouse. The maintenance costs include the costs of staff, water, soap, and other related expenses.
