010330Z TF Cincinnatus Bagram PRT QA/QC of of Chardeh Girls School

1 Jan 2008: The team started the mission on 1 Jan and quickly encountered the contractor widening the Ghorband Pass road at Pule-matak (IVO 42S WD 1880 6300). The contractor was working in many areas from Pule-matak through the Shinwari District to Dahan-e-Shaweh (IVO 42S VD 97031 75442). Some areas have been widened to 9-11m while others are being worked. There are two concrete wash areas that were previously damaged and they have been repaired. There was one section in Shinwari District that was carved through the rock on the side of the mountain. The contractor is currently carving another lane through this section and the team had to wait up to 30 minutes while the rock breaking excavators did their work. The teams first stop was at Chardeh Girls School (IVO 42S VD 7750 7269) in Sia Gird District to perform a warranty inspection on the new facility and to meet with the District Sub-Governor, Hamid Khan. Governor Taqwa reported recently that the ceiling collapsed and he was glad that no children were injured. When we walked through the facility with the headmaster, he showed us the ceiling in question and we found that it was in the guard room and that all ceilings in the main facility were still in place and performing well. It is surmised that the heating and cooling of the ceiling by the room heater along with an improper mixture of the concrete in the ceiling resulted in the pre-mature collapse. Additionally the concrete surfaces on the second floor and especially on the exterior stairs and the north interior staircase were crumbling causing tripping hazards. These surfaces need to be replaced before someone is injured. Other deficiencies include the lack of a water reservoir, some of the doors are warped and do not lock and the south entry double door is missing security latches which hold the second door closed. We meet with the Sub-governor Khan at the end of the facility walk-through. We discussed Chardeh School and what we would do upon return to the office. We also discussed the possible construction of permanent facilities for Basic Health Clinics (BHCs) that are currently in rental facilities and permanent facilities for childrens education. Specifically we asked if they had sites already set aside for the construction projects and if we could see the sites on our return trip on 3 Jan 08. We specifically asked about the following clinics: Qamcheq, Frenjal, Findaqistan, and Dara Saidan. The potential school facilities included: Deh Naw Girls School and Dashtack Girls School. They said that most had sites already picked and the land was owned by the Government. They looked forward to taking us to the sites on the 3rd. While in the Chardeh area, the teams medical technician performed a medical assessment of the Chardeh BHC. Her assessment is under a separate medical report. The team moved on and found the Frenjal BHC where the Teams Medical technician assessed this clinics medical capabilities. This BHC is in a rental facility which is a mud building that is in poor condition. Her assessment is under a separate medical report. Following the assessment, the team travelled up to Surkh Parsa District Center in Lolenge, Surkh Parsa (IVO 42S VD 67819 64738). The team met with the District Sub-governor Sayed Mustafawi that evening. The team discussed the snow and ice clearing contract procedures and what we will be clearing. We then discussed the clinics and schools we were looking at for replacement. Sub-governor Mustafawi stated that land was available for the two schools and two clinics. We arranged to take the District Administrative officer with our convoy the next day to view the sites. Sub-governor Mustafawi provided us a room inside the new district center building with a heater with wood and coal. This was a great help as the outdoor temperatures dropped. 2 Jan 2008: 2 Jan 08 The team broke into two 2-vehicle convoys to maximize effectiveness. The first convoy proceeded to the project sites in Surkh Parsa. The second convoy travel to Shaikh Ali District center to meet with the District Sub-governor Jalalludin. The Surkh Parsa (SP) team departed with the district administrator for the sites in the Turkman Valley (Dara Turkman). The first stop was at the future location for the Safrah Shaheed Girls School. The site (IVO 42S VD 59336 48882) was excellent for construction of the school. It was a fairly flat farm plot along the main road with no history of flooding. The site was adequately sized for the facility to be built. The next stop for the SP Team was the Dara-e-Turkman BHC (IVO 42S VD 56696 48450). The teams medical technician completed a medical assessment of the care-providers while the engineering staff evaluated the project location. The medical assessment is in a separate report. The district administrator and the clinic doctor stated that the new location was the same as the old. They requested that we demolish the existing structure and build the new clinic in this site. The team chief questioned them about the current property owners desire for the facility. The current owner, Abdul Husain, spoke up and stated that he wanted to donate the land and the facility to the government. The team chief stated that a legal real estate transfer document would need to be prepared before we could begin work on the site. They all agreed that they would get it done. The site is on the side of the mountain, but the size of the existing facility is similar to the BHC plans we have, so the site should work well. Some asked if we would build a building for the sub-clinic at Dahan-e-Parandaz. The team chief explained that the sub-clinics were by design of the ministry of Public Health to be in rented home-style facilities. One asked if we could build the new BHC at their site near Dahan-e-Parandaz and they could move the sub-clinic to the current site of the Dara-e-Turkman BHC. The team chief stated that the decision to make the change would need to be made by the MoPH. The team stopped at the site of the Adil Water Culvert (IVO 42S VD 60195 49251) to inspect the latest work on the culvert. The contractor expanded and corrected the upstream side of the culvert as well as the downstream outlets. However, the locals pointed out that the contractor did not expand the whole culvert so the center section is constricted. We will address this issue with the contractor. The SP team transferred to the Surkh Valley (Dara Surkh) to visit the Quam-e-Baqi clinic and the Nasheed Shaheed Girls School site. When the team arrived at the turning point (IVO 42S VD 69007 53730) to the Quam-e-Baqi clinic, it was obvious that the HMMWVs would not be able to cross the old wooden bridge just after the turn. The locals stated it was a 15-minute walk to the clinic on the hill. It was determined that it was un-wise to walk to the clinic as we needed to move on to the school. The