INTRODUCTION
In July 2010, torrential rains caused devastating floods throughout Pakistan. The unprecedented flooding claimed the lives of thousands and affected millions who were displaced from their homes. Flood waters destroyed roads, homes, schools and health facilities, leaving massive numbers of people without access to clean drinking water, food, shelter and sanitation facilities. Though the Pakistan government and the international aid community reacted immediately, the magnitude of the disaster has resulted in thousands living in camps even one year after the flooding.
With its network of advisors and partner NGOs in Pakistan, Give2Asia responded quickly to help the flood disaster’s survivors. In times of disaster, Give2Asia partners with organizations that are focused on immediatel relief, as well as short- and long-term recovery. In the case of the Pakistan flood, Give2Asia relief and short-term recovery efforts focused on providing survivors with basic necessities and services to help with rehabilitation of affected communities.
Give2Asia raised over $345,000 for the Pakistan flood disaster and has targeted its funding to support the following high-impact projects:
1. IMMEDIATE RELIEF PROJECTS
Partner: Center for Peace and Development (CPD)
Location: Balochistan
Grant Amount: $15,000
The Pakistan flood affected 10 districts in the largest province of Balochistan. The initial disaster was followed by heavy rains, causing further damage to the already devastated areas. The floods destroyed food stocks, sources of livelihoods, and essential community infrastructure, such as schools and village wells, in what were already very poor communities. Most food stores were severely damaged or completely destroyed, both at the household-level and local market-level. Agriculture, one of the main sources of livelihoods, was also significantly affected with standing crops destroyed and fields flooded. In low-lying areas such as topographical depressions and ditches, pools of stagnant water were formed. The presence of such water, coupled with hot weather, posed serious and imminent health risks when located within or near communities. The flood also washed out mud houses and items of daily use. The situation in district Loralai, especially the Luni area, was particularly bad.
CPD, a non-profit organization in Quetta, initiated relief work in the hard-hit areas of Loralai and Luni, assisting 200 flood-affected families by providing them with necessary items used in daily life. CPD conducted an initial assessment to identify the households with the greatest need, targeting those headed by women or hit hardest by the floods. CPD then purchased and distributed essential goods to each of the 200 families. The packages contained basic food items, kitchen sets, mattresses, blankets, jerry cans, shawls, bath soap and woolen hats. The relief goods were distributed by the end of November 2010 in time for the winter. Each family was given enough to keep them stocked for a month while reconstruction of their houses took place. According to CPD, these basic necessities were essential for survival during the winter, and they provided many of the families with basic comfort until they were able to move back and begin rebuilding their lives.
Partner: South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR Pakistan)
Location: Thatta, Sindh
Grant Amount: $30,000
Thatta in Sindh was seriously affected, with more than 700,000 people displaced from their homes and communities. Many families were forced to move to areas of Makly, Gharo, Dhabeji, Gujo, and Karachi. Several more moved to Badin, Tando Bago, Talhar, and Hyderabad. SAFHR Pakistan began relief efforts with an initial goal of providing food items to deprived communities in Thatta district and those who took shelter in Badin. SAFHR Pakistan’s field staff in Badin District prepared lists of people in need, ensuring that those who were really in need of relief kits were able to receive them.
Each flood relief kit donated by SAFHR Pakistan contained food essentials, plates, ladles, bath soap, shawls, a plastic sheet and cooking utensils. Stoves, kerosene oil and water coolers were also provided separately. The flood relief kits were distributed in two rounds. Though the project initially planned to provide recovery items to displaced families in Badin, by the time the goods were being distributed, many of the families had begun to move back to their villages in Thatta. The items were instead distributed to groups in Tualka Jati of Thatta district.
According to the statistics collected by Sindh Agricultural and Forestry Workers Coordinating Organization SAFWCO, in Thatta district almost 177,800 acres of land and many fish farms were washed away. Most of the people in the villages of Thatta used to work as daily wage laborers on agricultural farms. Due to the devastating flood, crops were washed away leaving many families unemployed in the villages. SAFHR Pakistan determined that the most important time to distribute essential recovery goods was as people moved back into their homes and attempted to re-establish themselves within the home communities. Altogether, a total of 313 families benefited from the efforts of SAFHR Pakistan. 150 kits were distributed in the first round and another 163 kits in the second round, enabling a 5 member household to survive for a month with necessary items.
Partner: Mahvash and Jahan Siddiqui Foundation (MJSF)
Location: Sehwan Sharif, Sindh
Grant Amount: $35,000
MJSF has provided assistance and relief to flood victims since August 2010. Their projects focus on addressing the needs of several thousand people living in the
Sehwan Sharif displaced persons camp; many of these were occupants of the estimated 1.2 million homes destroyed in the floods. Through the grant funds provided by the International Community Foundation, MJSF provided shelter, food, clean drinking water, sanitation supplies and medical services for the camp’s occupants.
This project helped meet demand for basic services as the population at the camp expanded due to the mass influx of displaced persons in the months following the flood. During the course of several months, the camp size doubled from 500 tents to 1,000 tents with each tent housing one family. The camp population rose to from 3,300 resident to over 7,100. In order to meet the needs of this population, additional supplies of food, water and health services needed to be provided.
Of the total $35,000 granted, $30,000 went directly to purchasing food, which was distributed to 500 families in the camp for a four-week period. The remaining $5,000 funded weekly medical care and examination sessions; these were held in the camp and included the use of mobile medical care vehicles provided by Fakhr-e-Imdad Foundation (FIF), an affiliate organization of MJSF.
Partner: Kashf Foundation
Location: Kamber Shahadkot, Sindh
Grant Amount: $5,000
In order to address the short-term needs of the flood victims, the Sanctuary Fund and Give2Asia made a grant to the Kashf Foundation. The Kashf Foundation provided food and medical supply packages to 155 flood-affected families (each family containing 5-7 members) intended to last two weeks The community chosen for this specific project was the village of Tehsil Qubo Saeed Khan in the district of Kamber Shahdadkot; the food was given to the families in need on December 7, 2010.
In the aftermath of the flood, the Kashf Foundation undertook a project to assess communities that were worst affected and most in need of food and medical supply relief. After this initial assessment, beneficiaries were registered and packages were distributed to those in need.
This project is a part of a greater relief effort taken up by the Kashf Foundation. Since August 2010, the Kashf South Punjab Relief Drive has successfully distributed food to 14,350 families throughout the affected region.
Partner: Indus Resource Centre (IRC)
Location: Khairpur and Jamshoro, Sindh
Grant Amount: $30,000
IRC was already working in Khairpur, Dadu and Jamshoro Districts of Sindh at the time of the disaster, and was able to respond immediately to the flood emergency. IRC worked closely with district governments, international relief agencies and other local organizations to provide immediate relief to flood-affected people in Sindh. It focused its efforts on managing relief camps and coordinating distribution of food and non-food items amongst thousands of families, providing water and sanitation facilities, conducting health and hygiene training sessions with communities and carrying out social mobilization. It set up a Tent City in Khairpur, Sehwan and Dadu and looked after the needs of hundreds of families in Jamshoro, Dadu and Kamber Shahdadkot. IRC staff and social mobilizers were engaged in working with the communities on a daily basis during the project period, using a participatory methodology, determining their short and mid-term needs and helping them to regain confidence and hope for a future when they return to active lives.
The distribution of non-food items was implemented in District Dadu as it turned out to be one of the three most severely affected districts of Sindh. In August 2010, the eastern side of the district was affected by flooding of the River Indus. In September, the flood waters from the western side of the district caused further damage. Over 50 villages and small towns were inundated.
IRC waited for the water to recede and for the affected families to return to their villages before distributing relief items. The project benefited 500 families (a total of 3,706 people) in six villages: Umeed Ali Babar, Ibrahim Chandio, Shahdad Khoso, Pejaho, Dil Murad and Rasool Bux Brohi. During the last two weeks of December, these families received stoves, comforters, mattresses, cooking and eating utensils, mosquito nets, shawls, and other supplies.
Location: Swat and Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Muzaffargarh, Punjab
Grant Amount: $60,648
The Asia Foundation’s local office in Pakistan focused on distributing relief packages to the flood victims in the following areas: Swat and Nowshera in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Muzaffargarh in Punjab. The foundation designed two different types of relief packages for each phase of the project for distribution, focusing on the most pressing needs during each
phase. All of the packages were distributed to local groups within affected communities that had identified specific families in need. These three local partners included Aurat Foundation, United Rural Development Organization (URDO), and Pattan. The Asia Foundation had previous working relationships with these organizations, and was able to draw on their existing expertise working in the affected geographic areas. Additionally, these organizations volunteered to work without charging overhead or administration costs, stretching donor funds for increased impact.
In September 2010, for Phase I of the project, 900 relief packages were distributed to flood victims in need of basic food items. The objective was to provide the victims with essential food items combined with other health-related items such as medicines and sanitary items, among other basic necessities.
In November 2010, for Phase II of the project, 825 relief packages consisting of items geared toward victim rehabilitation were distributed. The objective was to provide the flood victims with non-food items that they would require upon returning home. Non-food items included quilts, pillows, socks, shawls and gloves.
2. CONTINUING PROJECTS
Communities are still suffering a year after the floods. Homes and livelihoods were lost and are still being rebuilt from scratch, and several thousand people are still living in camps unwilling to move back to the uncertain future that now awaits them. Give2Asia is funding longer-term rehabilitation projects.
Building Water Filtration Sites at Camps
Partner: Naya Jeevan
Grant Amount: $53,690
Naya Jeevan will construct fixed installation filtration sites in two relief camps in Sindh to distribute water to residents on a weekly basis. These ultra filtration systems have been tested during the earthquake in Haiti and have also been used for the past three years in schools in Peru, Thailand, and Jamaica. Each system can produce 50,000 liters of clean water per day. Based on WHO standards of water usage (10 to 15 liters of water per person, per day) this volume can service nearly 8,000 individuals. These water systems not only meet needs during the crisis period, but also can stay in place for several years with inexpensive annual maintenance.
In addition, Naya Jeevan is leveraging its core expertise in community healthcare. They will provide primary healthcare via a rotational mobile clinic equipped with a paramedic, doctor and mobile pharmacy. The mobile clinic will visit each camp at least once per week, and a doctor will be available 24/7 on a medical hotline to address questions. Naya Jeevan also plans to deliver a set of 24 workshops on preventive health, hygiene, sanitation, baby care, nutrition, mother-child wellness, eye-screenings, and dental checks to the flood affected communities. This work will be carried out with a grant made possible by the Marvell Charitable Fund.
Create Hydropower Generators in Utror, Swat District
Partner: Imran Khan Foundation
Grant Amount: $38,300
IKF provides survivors with education, social services, and health care in different parts of the country. Their projects range from providing food and shelter for the homeless to rebuilding houses and planning sustainable villages across Pakistan. One of its projects is to build micro hydels in the Utror area of Swat, which harness the power of running water to produce electrical energy. This mode of electricity generation has been used in the mountainous northern regions of Pakistan, especially in the upper reaches of Swat. Prior to the devastating floods, the communities of Utror benefited from 33 micro hydel projects. However, the raging floods swept these away and, even after the water levels receded, the communities were not able to salvage any part of the equipment. By rebuilding a single micro hydel in a community, 60 to 70 households (600-700 people) would benefit. A total of 19 micro hydel power stations are planned in the area.
A grant made possible by the Marvell Charitable Fund is supporting the installation of two micro hydel plants.
Provide Books to Schools in the Punjab Province
Partner: Alif Laila
Grant Amount: TBD
Give2Asia is considering a grant to Alif Laila from the remaining funds in the Give2Asia Pakistan Flood Relief Funds. Alif Laila began the challenging work of bringing education to those children who lost both their homes and schools in the floods. In the city of Muzaffargarh in the Punjab province, 1,175 schools were rendered unsafe and 785 are being used as relief camps. Officials in the area fear that these school closures will lead to as many as 100,000 students permanently dropping out. Alif Laila plans to provide its ‘Books Build Bridges’ libraries to as many relief camps and schools as funds allow. Each kit contains 150 story books, 5 craft kits, 5 marionettes, 5 bubble making kits, 3 interactive storyboards, 5 mini blackboards with colored chalk, and 5 whiteboards with markers. Replenishable pieces benefit up to 30 children, but the books provided would be usable by the entire school indefinitely. The cost of each kit including its delivery is approximately $212.
Providing healthcare to high-risk, pregnant women affected by the floods in Pakistan
Grant Amount: TBD
Give2Asia is considering a grant to Naya Jeevan to provide healthcare to pregnant women still living in camps. While working to identify urgent healthcare needs, Naya Jeevan discovered that in the surrounding regions of Karachi, thousands of displaced pregnant women in their third trimester were in dire need of safe deliveries and postnatal/neonatal care. Most of these women are still living in makeshift tents. In September of 2010, Naya Jeevan launched a safe delivery initiative to help identify high-risk, third trimester women in camps and villages in the Sindh province, one of the largest flood-impacted regions in southern Pakistan.
With this initiative, Naya Jeevan hopes to reduce maternal and infant mortality and improve health outcomes in the Sindh province by providing for safe and sanitary deliveries at skilled birthing facilities in regional provider hospitals, and covering neonatal expenses for immunizations, male circumcision and incubator care. After three months of the delivery, the organization will follow up with individual women and families to assess the health outcomes. These measures are hoped to create a trend in the underserved population of these flood-impacted communities to seek proper birthing facilities in the future. The average cost of providing health care to these women is approximately $200 per delivery.
Naya Jeevan has successfully raised partial funding for this project and can scale the project as per available funding.