Tag Archives: pakistan

Alumni of Caritas disaster training in Peepli Wala Village. Kamran Chaudhry/Caritas Pakistan

By Kamran Chaudhry, Communications Officer, Caritas Pakistan

Villagers living on eastern river belt say Caritas Pakistan’s disaster management course helped them in surviving the recent flash floods.

“I used a tire tube to escape the 20 feet water wave. It was noise and panic everywhere. Several snakes were also among the floating bushes but I escaped somehow. It was as if the river has changed into sea”, said Abrar Khan.

Khan, 18, is one of the alumni of the community based disaster preparedness programme organised by the local unit of Caritas Pakistan in Faisalabad diocese in Peepli Wala, Punjab province.

The village was inundated early August after the nearby River Chenab swelled with water. The scattered population of 250 lives about 2 km from the river.

Khan returned after a month and helped in transporting luggage and even people from one encampment to another. “We were briefed about evacuation plans, rescuing, providing first aid and preparing rafts. Many didn’t take it seriously at first and only 30 attended but the programme actually helped in a lot of ways”, Khan added.

Similarly Mehr Zulfiqar Ali, another Muslim farmer, praised the Caritas initiative. “My younger brother was caught in the high tide. One of the rescuers from Caritas Pakistan’s course saved him. It helped us with guidelines and food”, said Ali.

Caritas Pakistan has been conducting disaster preparedness trainings in a high flood risk areas since 2008. 1210 people participated in the 27 such courses held last year all over the country.

“People know less about the utilities of simple things like tire tubes in times of flood. The programme reduces the risks and threats from disasters and is very popular at grass root level due its participatory approach”, said Amin Babar Disaster Management Programme Coordinator of Caritas Pakistan in Faisalabad.

Shameem's house under construction. Credit Kamran Chaudhry/Caritas Pakistan

By Kamran Chaudhry, Caritas Pakistan Communications Officer

As the winter slowly approaches, Caritas Pakistan is spearheading early reconstruction for the victim’s of floods in the country.

“We are now moving towards the rehabilitation phase. The relief phase was originally planned for six months but we don’t have the luxury to wait. The coldest months are approaching and we have to consider the situation as it is”, said Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, Caritas Pakistan President.

The prelate was speaking in wake of slow reconstruction progress in Khushpur in central Punjab province. Khushpur is one of the 4600 villages damaged or destroyed by the recent flood disaster.

Ponds of black water are still lying stagnant over the fields covered by rotting crops around the village. Serious salinity problems have now surfaced here causing major concerns among the local farmers. Most of the mud houses here either collapsed or were badly damaged after recurrent spells of torrential rains.

These also included the shed of Firdous Shameem, a widow. Shameem now lives in a tent near her broken house.

“The children were sleeping inside when the heavy rains started midnight. After praying, I went out to check the water outflow when I saw the flash of lightning through a large crack in the wall. We moved to our neighbors same night and the house collapsed next morning. We cannot stand the heat at daytimes inside the tent. Likewise, the nights are getting colder”, she said.

To date, the local unit of Caritas in Faisalabad has provided such material to 166 families with construction material.