Karez no Kai (Karez Association) is an NGO that has carried out health care and education support in Afghanistan since 2002. "Karez" refers to the underground waterways that nourish the land of Afghanistan, the "waterways of life," and the name carries the hope that small wishes will gather into a stream of hope.
It was founded in April 2002, received official NGO registration from the Afghan government that June, and began running a clinic in Kandahar in the south. The clinic building was completed in 2008, and today 39 local staff members care for more than 150 patients a day. In education, it is reported that 2,247 children (1,444 boys and 983 girls) study from grade 1 through grade 12 at the Haji Nika School.
In Japan, it publishes a newsletter several times a year, holds report meetings and lectures in various places, gives talks at schools and companies, sells related books and lends photo panels. It says it hopes people will feel Afghanistan not as a distant event but as a place where people live in the same era as we do.
Key points
- Running a clinic and a school in Kandahar since 2002
- 39 local staff at the clinic support more than 150 patients a day
- Chances to learn about the field in Japan through newsletters, report meetings and lent photo panels
Why this organization deserves attention
It has long been engaged in two fields that form the basis of daily life and the future: health care and education. By running a clinic and a school on site, it stays close to the everyday lives of local people.
In Japan, too, it conveys the situation on the ground in many ways, such as report meetings, lectures and lent photo panels. Besides joining or donating, there seem to be easy ways to start, such as simply listening to a talk, making it an entry point to learning about Afghanistan.
Editor's comment
It may seem like a story from a distant country, but every person who visits the clinic and every student at the school has a daily life. Karez no Kai's phrase "waterways of life" tells us that this work continues quietly.
A report meeting is sometimes held near where you live. Why not check the news on the official website?