Rebuilding Brick by Brick
Posted on Tue, 31/08/2010
The last few days have brought more floods in the south of Pakistan, forcing another one million people out of their homes. The torrential monsoon rains that triggered massive floods have moved steadily from north to south over the past month, overwhelming the Pakistani government by the magnitude of this disaster, the worst in the country's history. The land most affected is traditionally the food bowl of Pakistan. Many rural workers have been displaced as the Indus River has swollen to 40 times its normal size. About four million houses have been destroyed in various parts of the country.
While humanitarian organisations and the government plan rebuilding programmes, people like Allah Nawaz, an 18-year-old from Basti Sakhani in DI Khan, have started building. “My father is a shepherd, and I am a day labourer so I know how to build walls and work with cement. Water dried up about a week ago and we decided to collect bricks from destroyed houses to start rebuilding our homes together.” They are reusing bricks since the price of new bricks is just over double the price they were before the floods. “We have to use our time to rebuild our homes and because of this we cannot work for anyone else, but money is running out,” Nawaz says.
For families without money and no earning possibilities, house rebuilding will take months or longer without intervention from aid organisations. Cost and lack of resources make it impossible for thousands of families to start rebuilding so financial assistance is a foremost priority. Other considerations include the need for labourers to work. Skilled workers like Nawaz also need help finding construction jobs so they can start meeting other needs for their families. Pakistan needs a huge skilled labour force so rebuilding occurs soon. Training new labourers will develop earning opportunities, supply skilled labour, and build morale in communities with bleak income and employment opportunities.
“Thankfully, everyone in our village is safe from harm but our belongings have gone with the water, our rations are destroyed, and we are afraid of disease that may come from drinking water,” says Nawaz.
ACT response
Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan plans to provide an extra 3000 families in Sindh province with food and other aid and to commission two mobile health units. It is planning to set up construction trade training centres, offer cash for work, voucher and cash grant schemes to help re-establish agricultural livelihood, and continue offering health services.
Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan plans to provide an extra 3000 families in Sindh province with food and other aid and to commission two mobile health units. It is planning to set up construction trade training centres, offer cash for work, voucher and cash grant schemes to help re-establish agricultural livelihood, and continue offering health services.
Norwegian Church Aid is providing technical help to its partners, helping deliver food and hygiene kits, and is starting mobile health clinics which have provided medical assistance to 2000 patients so far. Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe has provided clean drinking water, and water and debris cleaning. Twenty water tanks have been installed at 11 different points.
(Source: ACT Alliance)