Disaster Response Pakistan Project #6197

Relief for flood-displaced families in Pakistan

by Mercy Corps

Project Report | Nov 22, 2011
Thank You for Putting the "Giving" Back in Thanksgiving

By Neal Keny-Guyer | CEO

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we want to thank you for your generous support of flood relief and development efforts in Pakistan.Your donations embody the spirit of this holiday season and serve as great reminders for all of us to be thankful for what we have and to be generous to those less fortunate.

Your donations are are so important to what we do. Please watch and share this video of me expressing my appreciation.

Our lifesaving work is not possible without you. Please accept my thanks on behalf of our worldwide team and the millions of people we serve around the world.

I hope that you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving and a truly special Holiday Season.

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Oct 19, 2011
Mercy Corps Helps Pakistan Cope with Another Year of Flooding

By Pete O'Farrell | Senior Program Officer

Photos: Syed Israr Shah/Mercy Corps

After barely getting back on their feet from the historic 2010 floods, Pakistan's monsoon season has deluged the same region again creating a health and housing crisis for over 5 million people according to the UN. Media reports have estimated over 300 people have died and have left more than 200,000 people displaced in Sindh Province.

Heavy, prolonged rainfall joined by run-off from northern areas and exacerbated by breaches in canals all have mixed together to create brackish, black water that is ripe for disease transmission. We're seeing contamination of fodder and water for livestock, which is also leading to disease and death. More importantly, vast tracts of agriculture land have been flooded, meaning loss of food and cash crops.

Mercy Corps, with help from donors like you, is responding by providing emergency clean water and sanitation to displaced communities and establishing mobile medical clinics to deal with injuries and disease caused by the floods.

We've deployed two water units, capable of filtering around 4,000 liters of water/hour, running on average 12 hours/day. We can thus provide clean water to approximately 10,000 - 12,000 people per day.

Local NGOs with longstanding experience in these areas will assist in some areas with water trucking.

Our Mobile Health Units can reach an average of 50 patients each per day, providing emergency treatment and, when necessary, referral services to nearby Basic Health Units, clinics or hospitals -- at least those still functional. Many have been shut down due to the flooding. The MHUs will also be equipped with quick malaria testing kits and treatment.

Mercy Corps teams are also working to analyze the mid- to long-term effects and work with communities to recover. These efforts, which are supported by generous donations, are only the latest in Mercy Corps 25 year effort to alleviating suffering and poverty in Pakistan by building better communities.

To enable us to assist more communities, additional donations to this or our other Mercy Corps' programs are appreciated. Learn more by clicking below.

photo: Mercy Corps

Links:

Mercy Corps in Pakistan

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Aug 2, 2011
Mercy Corps Donation: Rebuilding After the 2010 Pakistan Flood

By Carlene Deits | Project Leader

Clean water source. Photo: Mark Chadwick

It’s been exactly one year since heavy monsoon rains created a severe flood that left one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area underwater. Twenty million people were directly affected – losing homes and farmlands, livelihoods and loved ones. With your help, Mercy Corps responded.

Your donation to Mercy Corps last year helped us provide flood-affected families in Pakistan with urgently needed food and water immediately after the disaster. Since then, Mercy Corps has helped many families get back on their feet and begin the long process of rebuilding their lives.

Your donation helped Mercy Corps:

Provide nearly 10,000 people with safe drinking water – daily – immediately after the flood.
Distribute thousands of emergency food kits containing rice, lentils, cooking oil and powdered milk.
Distribute 330 tool kits containing a wheelbarrow, shovel and hammer to help families rebuild their homes, farms and businesses.
Distribute hygiene kits that benefited 56,730 people.
Organize the distribution of water-purification tablets to far-flung villages.
Build new water points and repair handpumps.
Install 300 latrines and 26 bathrooms.
Establish mobile health units that treated 12,230 patients.
Implement cash-for-work programs to start rebuilding and repairing vital infrastructure — schools, irrigation canals, access roads — and to educate other villagers about important topics like proper hygiene.

Lal’s Story

Lal Khatoon, age 40, is typical of cash-for-work participants. A widow with two children, Lal used to work long hours in the fields and she owned more than a dozen livestock, including buffalo, cows and sheep. All of her animals died during the floods, and her rice crop was washed away.

After fleeing her home last summer, Lal lived in a makeshift camp alongside a road in the nearby city of Jacobabad with her children. Once she returned to her village of Dur Mohammed, she found that her home and everything she owned was gone. She resorted to sleeping outside on a simple bed until she could rebuild.

Lal didn’t know where she would find the money to rebuild her home, but regained some hope when she learned of Mercy Corps’ cash-for-work program. Lal attended a hygiene training session where she learned basic messages and practices to keep herself, her family and her home clean. As part of the program, she then took these messages on the road, going door to door in her village to educate other women. Her efforts will play a critical role in keeping the village healthy, plus she’ll earn income to begin rebuilding her home and purchase basics like food, medicines and clothing for her family.

Learn more about Mercy Corps projects in Pakistan:

Repairing Roads and Rebuilding Lives in Pakistan (video)
Ensuring Clean Water for Pakistan’s Flood-Displaced Families (video)
Women’s Mobile Clinics (video)

Thank you again for your donation to Mercy Corps’ work in Pakistan. With your help, people like Lal and her family have hope for a better future.

Mobile health for women. Photo: Julie Denesha

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