Miyamoto Relief Rebuilds 19 Multi-Family Compounds

Miyamoto Relief Rebuilds 19 Multi-Family Compounds

Afghanistan is confronting one of the most complex set of crises that involves war, poverty, and natural disasters. In 2022, Afghanistan communities experienced an increase in displacement due to flash floods, droughts, and earthquakes. According to the UN, 24.4 million Afghan persons need humanitarian assistance and resilient infrastructure.

In the Gayan district, a single multi-family compound houses an average of three to five families. After the 5.9 earthquake struck the area in June of 2022, it destroyed an estimate of 13,000 houses and displaced hundreds of thousands of families.

To respond to the crisis in Afghanistan, The Center for Disaster Philanthro py awarded Miyamoto Relief (MR) with a $215,000 grant to rebuild 15 multi-family compounds. For eight weeks, Miyamoto Relief worked alongside the Afghanistan community to train on the processes of building their homes back safer. The MR program sourced local materials and used local construction methods to rebuild and return 500 men, women and children to a safe home.

Figure 1: Build Back Safer Key Technical Messages

Key Messages to Save Lives

After the earthquake, homes were left with collapsed roofs and/or wall cracks that affected the safety of the building. Miyamoto Relief partnered with the Global Shelter Cluster and the International Organization of Immigration to develop 6 key technical messages that inspects vulnerabilities, reduces risk and ultimately saves lives.

Rebuilding Using Locally Sourced Materials

Every damaged multi-family compound identified four common earthen materials, Paksha, Mud Brick, Stone, and Timber. Experts incorporated the locally sourced materials into the guidelines and trainings to inform the affected Afghan communities of sustainable local construction methods to rebuild their homes. Under the Miyamoto Relief program, the local community came together and worked as one to rebuild their neighbors’ homes before the onset of the cold winter.

Figure 2: Rebuilding Using Locally Sourced Material

Miyamoto Relief Exceeds Expectations

In just 8 weeks, Miyamoto Relief was able to scale up trainings with local communities to ensure that knowledge of repair methods is sustained beyond the life of the project. The initial aim was to repair 15 multi-family compounds; however, Miyamoto Relief, alongside the Afghanistan community, repaired a total of 19 multi-family compounds. The rapid repair of vernacular residences will rehouse 521 men, women, and children and provide a long-term shelter solution for the affected households.