Pakistani flood-hit children get medical aid – 3 Sep 2010
Children in one of the poorest areas affected by the Pakistan floods are to receive free health services from a Tearfund partner.
Disruption to clean water supplies and sanitation has led to widespread outbreaks of illness, notably diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and skin conditions. To combat this, transition centres are to be set up in six villages in Punjab by staff from the Adult Basic Education Society (ABES).
Helping the most vulnerable
These communities are based in the district of Mianwali which has high levels of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. The Indus river also flows through the area and the floods have caused considerable damage to homes, livelihoods, roads and bridges. The new transition centres will offer free check-ups, medicines, nutritional supplements, psycho-social support and ways of purifying water. Partner staff will work with district health officials on this project, identifying the worst cases of need. Where severely ill people are found, patients will be referred to the district hospital.
Health education will be another key part of ABES’ intervention, particularly teaching children who’ve seen their schools destroyed about cleanliness and hygiene. The disaster has left a traumatic imprint on the emotional health of youngsters and so ABES will be using play and learning activities to restore a sense of normality.
Support for mums
ABES staff are also looking to create Mother Support Groups which will help women as they restore their family life and livelihoods.
Up to 20 million people have been affected by the floods, which started at the end of July and have swept from the north to south of the Pakistan, caused by exceptional monsoon rains. With generous support for our floods appeal, fellow Tearfund partner SSEWA-Pak has been providing food and other essential items to thousands of survivors in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa provinces. A team from SSEWA-Pak are working with Unicef to address the needs of children affected by the floods.
- €107 could pay for a food package for four families for 30 days
- €53 could pay for a health & hygiene kit to protect 10 families from disease
- €21 could pay for eating utensils for 4 families so they can cook for themselves
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Pakistan flood aid gets to families in remote areas – 27 Aug 2010
This week food, plastic sheets for shelter, hygiene kits and cooking utensils were among the items distributed to another 500 families in the Kashmore district of Sindh.
It’s nearly a month since the monsoon rains brought devastation to Pakistan, affecting around 20 million people and claiming the lives of 1,600 others.
Lost everything
As the flood waters have moved from the north to the south, Sindh province has increasingly been deluged. Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said, ‘There’s been no let-up in the flooding situation. More and more areas are being flooded.’
So far Tearfund partner SSEWA-Pak has provided aid to more than 8,000 families in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province and is currently working in Sindh to help people who in many cases have lost everything.
In the village of Saiful-Mirani in upper Sindh, a man called Gulab told how his house was virtually destroyed and his family only just managed to escape injury: ‘I have nothing left at all,’ he said, adding that they had received no outside help.
Solomon Khurrum from SSEWA-Pak, speaking from what looked like a vast lake, said, ‘There used to be a nice village here where people cultivated their lands but now there’s nothing left; no medical help has been provided to the people who are affected and no food either.’
Illness spreading
One elderly villager said, ‘Our crops were destroyed by the floods. We have nothing, we have lost the wheat which we had – what will our children eat now? This is the third day our children are hungry, we don’t have anything to eat or drink.’ Waterborne illnesses are adding to the suffering. Diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, rashes and other skin complaints are increasingly evident as the flooding affects access to clean water and disrupts sanitation. A team from SSEWA-Pak are working with Unicef to address the needs of children affected by the floods.
- €107 could pay for a food package for four families for 30 days
- €53 could pay for a health & hygiene kit to protect 10 families from disease
- €21 could pay for eating utensils for 4 families so they can cook for themselves
- More about: Pakistan, Emergencies
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Survivors tell of flood’s nightmare – 12 Aug 2010
Survivors of the Pakistan flooding disaster have been telling Tearfund of their terror as rising waters destroyed their homes and forced them to flee for their lives.
Vast swathes of the country from the north to the south are under water after heavy monsoon rains, which have affected 14 million people and claimed the lives of 1,600 others.
Younas John, 48, was asleep when the deluge struck his village in north west Pakistan. He said, ‘It was midnight and I heard voices outside. I went out and everyone was running to save their lives. I took my family to higher ground.’
Saved
‘Thank God my family is saved but now we have no shelter or food. The water level rose to ten feet and our homes were completely destroyed. We’ve lost all our belongings, including clothes, utensils, everything.’
Staff from Tearfund partner SSEWA-Pak are assisting Younas’ family, who as well as needing food and other essentials have been left traumatised by the flooding. Our partner has supplied 1,100 families in the north west with food, plastic sheeting for shelter, stoves, plates, cups, pots, soap, towels, tooth paste and antiseptics.
Staff are also responding to similar needs further south in Sindh province which has been affected by the flood waters moving downstream. The water is passing through Sukhar in Sindh and a barrage there is, like many dams, feeling the stain so the area’s canal system has been opened up to reduce pressure on it.
Strain
Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said, ‘The whole of the upper Sindh and some parts of the lower Sindh are now under water.’
The country’s army moved some people living near the swollen river Indus to higher ground but the district of Kashmore in Sindh has been inundated after an embankment was breached.
In some parts, water levels rose 12 feet. Umer Hazrat, an agricultural labourer, is among those affected. He lost his home, his fields and his cattle, but with his family managed to save some domestic utensils. ‘My wife hardly had time to save anything because the water level was rising so fast. I’ve lost everything but I am thankful to God that my family is alive,’ he said.
Huge misery
Home, for now, for Umer is on the side of a road, its raised position offering the only dry piece of land in the area. SSEWA-Pak is providing him and his family with emergency aid.
Solomon Khurrum, from SSEWA-Pak, appealed for more help via Tearfund’s Pakistan floods appeal: ‘I urge you (Tearfund supporters) to come forward and contribute to the aid effort and to help people who are suffering such huge misery,’ he said.
Please give what you can today
But we must act quickly. Tens of thousands of people are injured and homeless. And floods are an ideal breeding ground for water-borne diseases such as cholera. Donate now
- €107 could pay for a food package for four families for 30 days
- €53 could pay for a health & hygiene kit to protect 10 families from disease
- €21 could pay for eating utensils for 4 families so they can cook for themselves
Download a powerpoint prayer presentation here to share with others and to help pray effectively.
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Enormous floods devastates Pakistan – Tearfund responds – 4 Aug 2010
Tearfund’s local partner organisations in Pakistan were in a position to immediately assist those affected by monsoon flooding. Heavy rains in northern Pakistan have caused floods which have killed at least 1,600 people and affected 12 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands injured and homeless. Tearfund’s partner SSEWA-PAK have started to distribute food and essential non-food items to families most urgently affected by the floods.
A state of emergency has been declared by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) after days of rain caused widespread devastation, in some places sweeping entire villages away. The flood is now passing through Punjab and moving towards the Sind region, where people have already been asked to evacuate.
Roads, bridges, crops and livestock have been destroyed as rivers have burst their banks and inundated vast areas, with Balochistan in the south west and Punjab also affected.
Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said:
‘It’s one of the biggest floods in the history of Pakistan. People need food immediately as they have lost their homes and possessions.
‘But it is not proving easy to respond to this emergency. Bridges and roads have been destroyed and the disruption of transport and communication links is making assessments difficult, with many survivors effectively cut off from outside help.’
Tearfund have released emergency funds to support local partners to support people affected by the flooding, and particularly to minimise the impact of floods on the areas of southern Punjab and Sind when the water reaches there. Donate now to support those in need in Pakistan. Download
a powerpoint prayer presentation here to share with others and to help pray effectively.
All photos: Ashraf Mall/Tearfund
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Irish-funded health centre opened; Cambodian PM says thanks – 23 Jul 2010
A new TB/AIDS respite care centre was built in July in Poipet, Cambodia with funding from employees of ESB in Ireland. At a ceremony to open a new TB/AIDS health centre, Tearfund was presented with a gold medal and certificate of appreciation by the governor of Banteay Meanchey province on behalf of the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen. The recognition reflects the growing influence of Tearfund partners working in Cambodia to tackle poverty.
Poipet City, in north-west Cambodia, is an epicentre for HIV/AIDS due to its thriving sex trade and human trafficking industry. Tearfund’s local partner, Cambodian Hope Organisation has been supporting people living with HIV for many years. However they realized that the local hospital facilities were inadequate for people with HIV and tuberculosis (TB). TB was spreading to immune-compromised patients and causing a high death rate. The new facility allows the isolation and improved care of highly infectious patients.
David Crooks, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Cambodia, said the timing of the recognition was important: ‘This growing influence comes at a time when the government is tightening up its control of civil society and will hopefully demonstrate to the government the validity of civil society groups and the church.’
Would you like to see our work in Cambodia in Spring 2011? Deadline for application 30th August. Apply today.
Find out more about our work in Cambodia here.
Zimbabwe Appeal - Shadreck age 12 – 1 Jul 2010
Shadreck is just 12 years old, but caring for his sister and elderly grandmother. More than 1.8 million children in Zimbabwe are orphaned. We are making sure they are not forgotten.
Shadreck, age 12, and his sister Primrose, age 10, live in what seems an idyllic spot for children to grow up in.
From their home, there are far-reaching views for miles over the rolling countryside and forested hills. Wild flowers are in bloom, butterflies and birds are in the air and peace pervades this rural part of Zimbabwe.
But life for Shadreck and Primrose is anything but idyllic. Both their parents died from AIDS-related illnesses and the children are now among the poorest of the poor, facing a daily struggle for survival.
No regular income means a lack of food is their biggest problem. They often go hungry.
They live in a small thatched hut which has seen better days as the roof is coming apart and the walls are succumbing to the elements. Inside there is a hole in the ground where they have a fire to cook their food and the only piece of furniture is small table, crowded with plates and pans.
The children have a small patch of land where they have planted a maize crop but lack of rain in January means it is likely to fail, leaving them facing greater hunger.
Their hardship has been compounded by the theft of the few chickens they had.
Only Primrose goes to school. Shadreck had to give up attending in 2008 so he could work to provide for them both.
Shadreck said: ‘Yes, we feel hungry but there’s nothing we can do. If we have some mealy meal (a local type of porridge), in order for us to survive, we eat just once or twice a day. We have been living with hunger since our mother died.’
Although Shadreck is two years older than his sister, she is taller than him, evidence of how lack of food and a poor diet is stunting his growth.
While Primrose gets lunch at school, Shadreck goes without in the middle of his busy day.
The children get up at 6am. Shadreck works either his own or a neighbour’s land until 11am and then spends the rest of the day making two trips to fetch water in a 20kg bucket, walking a kilometre there and back over undulating countryside. After that he might walk up to four kilometres to find firewood.
‘I get very tired,’ he says in a quiet and understated voice. ‘I wish I could go back to school. I also wish I could get enough food and new clothing.’
Primrose rises at 6am too and walks two kilometres to school which starts at 6.45 and finishes at 3pm.
‘I feel pity for my brother. It’s also hard for me to see friends at school who have food when we don’t have enough’ Primrose says quietly.
Recently the children’s 85-year-old grandmother Sehli has been staying with them but she is in poor health. Mother-of-four Sehli has only one surviving son, who is blind, but does support her as best he can from his home in Bulawayo. With failing eyesight and the need for a stick to walk, Sehli relies on Shadreck and Primrose.
‘I have hope that God will protect us,’ says Sehli. ‘Yes the children are surviving but they need more food because they are always going short. Life was better when I was a youngster. I cannot work to help the children. Instead they are the ones working to look after me. It’s frustrating for me. I would like to be able to look after them.’
Both children attend the Agape Missions Pentecostal church, which meets at the local school. Despite their trials, their faith remains intact.
‘God is good and is going to bless us. He has been our protector,’ said Shadreck.
Tearfund’s local church partner, Zoe gives them porridge, mealy meal, sugar beans, cooking oil and maize supplies once a month. Primrose also gets help to pay her school fees.
We have also been able to provide them with some maize seeds. A local church volunteer Sellinah, supported by Tearfund, visits them regularly to offer support and train them in farming. She is teaching them how to dig and plant their own crops.
For years Zimbabwe has lived under the cloud of insecurity and political violence. Hyperinflation meant families did not know from one day to the next if they could put food on the table. A deadly cholera epidemic killed thousands and malnutrition became widespread. And at the same time HIV devastated the country. One child in four – over 1.8 million children – has lost one or both parents. For more information visit BBC to see their short film on Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children.
You can help give children a hope and a future
In Zimbabwe, Tearfund works through local churches and partners like Zoe. Individual church volunteers mentor individual children and their families, giving them not a ‘hand-out’, but a ‘hand-up’. Your donation will help to fund this work, and provide thousands of vulnerable children and families with the chance of a brighter, self-sufficient future. Give today.
- €45 will provide agricultural training for five church volunteers. With this training they could then help 120 orphans to farm their own food, giving them the skills and opportunity to build an independent future.
- €81 will provide orphaned families with seven chickens – providing them with nutritious eggs and food and helping them on the way to self-sufficiency.
- €119 will provide an entire community of 30 families with seeds from which to plant up to eight different crops, allowing them to diversify their crops so they are less vulnerable if a particular crop fails.
- €598 will pay to hold workshops to envision and train 60 church leaders – helping them to play a leadership role in their community’s struggles to defeat poverty.
To make a gift today, please give online, call Christine at 01 8783200 or post a cheque to Tearfund Ireland, 5-7 Upper O’Connell St, Dublin 1.
Fundraising – Make a meal of it
Summer, the perfect time for a barbeque – to eat, have fun and raise vital funds for families living in poverty in Zimbabwe. To help you pull together a Make a meal of it event, we have resources for you to download.
Praying
‘Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger’ Lamentations 2:19 (NIV)
Let the people of Zimbabwe know they haven’t been forgotten and encourage your church to pray today. To help you we have put together a short powerpoint presentation which you can download here.
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Zimbabwe, Forgotten Children, HIV -
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