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Friday, 3 September 2010
Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning we loaded up a truck with food packages for 371 people living in a village northeast of Peshawar. Apparently the village was a very poor community devastated by the floods. The food packages - provided by CHEF, one of our local partners - consisted of flour, rice, pulses, oil, sugar, tea, soap and a few other items. It will feed a family of seven for seven-to-ten days. It never ceases to amaze me how little food a family can live on in desparate times. Makes me realize once again how lucky we are in the 'western' world. In the afternoon we visited a mother/child health clinic run by the Diocese of Peshawar, another one of our local partners. The clinic was very basic, but the health care being provided was truly life saving. The doctors say they see about 30 to 40 patients a day and most of them have skin disease, tuberculosis, diarrhea, gastro intestnal illnesses and even some cases of cholera and malnutrition. The staff working in the clinic were truly dedicated, many of them lost their homes in the flood, but they continue to come to work and help those less fortunate.  I met one woman who is 35 years old, married with six children between the ages of six and twenty. She is also blind in one eye. When the floods came around 2 am in the morning she says she woke up to the sounds of screaming. When she and her husband jumped out of bed there was already water on the floor of their house. Her husband ran to grab the younger children, while the older ones came to help her because she can't see well and it was completely dark. They ran to higher ground to escape the flooding. The next day they went to a Diocese relief camp. They Diocese provided them with shelter, food, water and medical care for almost a month. But the family wanted desperately to return home. So on August 25 they went back home, to find their house heavily damaged. The foundation had shifted, all the walls had cracks, and all their belongings were either washed away or damaged beyond repair. However, they decided to stay there, 'it is our home' Laviza says, 'where else could we go?' The couple say they don't have the money to rent a house or to repair the damages. Despite all of this, Laviza and her family say they are blessed by God. No one was hurt, and the Diocese was there, and still is there helping. The Diocese has provided the family with some basic clothing, household items and cooking supplies. The Diocese hopes to be able to help the family repair their house, or rebuild it if need be, but they need to raise the funds to do so.In this small community of about 120 families, almost everyone lost everything and the Diocese hopes to help them all by either repairing or rebuilding their homes. But it will take time, probably the better part of a year. Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters says the Diocese hopes to repair or rebuild about 750 homes in northern Pakistan before next monsoon season. As he says that he laughs a little, 'let's hope next monsoon is a little more forgiving.' he says. Brian Hatchell CBM - Emergency Communications Coordinator |
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