18 August 2010: Our response to flooding in Pakistan

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has described the ongoing monsoon floods in Pakistan as “the worst disaster he has ever witnessed”. Millions of homeless people are facing starvation and are vulnerable to the growing threat from cholera, fever and diarrhoea caused by contact with contaminated flood waters. As one OM Pakistan team leader commented: “It is very difficult to explain in words the painful stories of people.”

Two OM Pakistan teams are working in partnership with local churches to provide life-saving assistance to thousands of people in the north and south of the country. Many people have been left destitute. The teams’ relief efforts initially consisted of providing emergency food aid to homeless families in Nowshera and Charsadda (the north) and Sindh (the south). Over 1000 families have already received free food packets containing flour, sugar, cooking oil and lentils.

In a town in Nowshera, the team distributed food in a Hindu Temple. The team had the opportunity to tell people that Christian brothers were with them in their time of suffering. The leader of the Hindu community commented: “You are first who have reached us with aid. So far we have been helping ourselves with money raised by another Hindu community.” People were very thankful that the team had made the effort to travel and bring relief to these Hindu families.

As the situation in Pakistan worsened, the team realised that many displaced families had lost all their belongings and were unable to cook their own food. Therefore, they started to provide cooked food in addition to the free food packets.

A new weather forecast of 20 more days of rain increased the probability of further deterioration in the situation. Therefore, the food distribution was increased to another 1000 families in each area. At the time of writing, this figure is expected to be at least 5,000 people.

Logistical Nightmare: Food Supply Difficulties

Finding and getting access to dry food supplies is becoming a major problem for the team in Sindh. The flood waters have destroyed most of the food stocks of the neighbouring town. Accessing food from other cities is a major challenge as the floods have destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure with many roads and bridges being washed away. The team’s food supplies are rapidly dwindling. They will be unable to continue with the distribution of free food-packs to hundreds of people unless they are able to buy more food soon.

In addition to food aid, the teams are also providing essential items such as clothing, tents and sanitary items. One man who received a tent for his homeless family shared: “I am here with my young daughters and sleeping in the open air is big trouble for my family. I appreciate your timely help. It was really a dangerous situation to keep the lives of my daughters safe.”

The northern team has also been distributing packets of dried baby milk. Infants are even more vulnerable to health problems caused by inadequate nutrition during the summer months.

Medical Aid in Sindh

The team in Sindh has been working alongside a medical team. Three doctors have already treated hundreds of people for illnesses such as malaria, diarrhoea and fever. The medical team are providing 5 days’ medication to people as required. The need is immense and the team is already feeling the workload. The lady doctor on the team has faced many challenges such as delivering babies in environmentally-hostile conditions.

A mobile medical team has been visiting patients in the Sindh region. If sufficient funding is raised, mobile clinics could be provided for up to 90 days. This project would involve local and overseas doctors.

Longer-Term Relief and Development Plans

So far the relief work has focussed on meeting people’s immediate needs. However, once the flood waters have receded, many people will require ongoing assistance to rebuild their lives. The OM Pakistan teams are planning to provide 100 families in each location with the help they need to return to their homes. Families will get one room, toilet, electric wiring/ fitting, and a hand pump.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for good health, strength and encouragement for the two teams as they work very long hours running the relief programmes.
• Pray that the love of God will be evident in their efforts.
• Pray for safety in travelling – many roads are blocked by mudslides, bridges have been washed away and much of the infrastructure has been damaged by the floods.
• Pray that new supplies of accessible food will be found quickly to enable the food-aid distribution to continue uninterrupted.
• Pray that more finances will be raised to support the teams’ ongoing relief and development work.

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