Pakistan floods: The long, hard road to Swat Valley
Oxfam’s Rebecca Wynn was heading towards the flooded areas of Swat Valley from Islamabad on Sat, 7th of August. She could not reach Swat Valley as heavy rainfall created a mudslide which blocked the road to Swat. Here she writes about her journey to Swat…
I was heading to the Swat region of Pakistan to see Oxfam’s emergency response to the floods that have devastated the country over the past week. It is a long arduous country at the best of times. Six and half hours from Islamabad, across increasingly mountainous terrain. But today it was even tougher.
The rain had been pelting down all morning – and it had been a long morning with a red-eye start at 5am.
The windscreen wipers screeched and the rain was pounding. Through my window I glimpsed the Indus river which had burst it’s banks days before. The tops of trees were peeking out of fields of water and empty, squashed down homes could be seen where the water receded. But in front of me the flood was doing it’s worse again. There had been landsides on the road ahead. The traffic snaked in front of us and horns blared. After about an hour of waiting, we realized that we were not going anywhere. Just two hours from Swat and we had to go back to the capital.
Rain was hard across the country yesterday and it wasn’t only us that faced problems. I saw reports that a UNHCR team distributing tents to 4,000 families in Azakhel camp (which houses Afghanistan refugees) were ordered to leave due to rising flood waters. Other reports said that aid planes were grounded. Sindh province, hundreds of miles away from me in the south of the country, was on high alert. Dams there had been breached and engineers are warning that two other huge dams are close to their maximum levels.
Although I didn’t make it to Swat, Oxfam aid workers there were battling against the elements. Amid the heavy rainfall they distributed soap, mugs, drinking water, sanitary towels and shelter kits to over 200 families. In addition, a team went a remote village called Morgojar to distribute aid. Although conditions were tough, they were doing their level best to get aid through.
Comments
Pakistan Appeal - A Disaster and an Emergency
The situation in Pakistan just gets worse with continuing heavy rain and more and more areas affected by flooding.I read that the DEC in the UK (Disaster Emergency Committe) were now pooling the donations made to individual charities. Any money given to main UK charities - the British Red Cross, Action Aid and Oxfam's <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/pakistan-floods/index.php">Pakistan appeal</a> will be handed over for this organisation to decide how it is best used.
Pakistan Appeal - A Disaster and an Emergency
With continuing torrential rain and vast areas affected by flooding the situation in Pakistan just gets worse We should all contribute to the relief campaign that DEC in the UK (Disaster Emergency Committe) are organising.The DEC are now managing the donations made to individual charities. Any money given to main UK charities - the Merlin, Christian Aid and Oxfam's Pakistan appeal will be pooled for this organisation to decide how it is best used to for aid and ongoing repairs.
UNICEF podcast: Pakistan floods and education
Listen to a new UNICEF podcast, Pakistan floods and education, at http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/pakistan-floods-and-education/
Here, podcast moderator Amy Costello speaks with Ms. Mugaddisa Mehreen, an Education Specialist with UNICEF in Islamabad, and award-winning journalist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy from Karachi, about the situation on the ground in Pakistan after the recent floods and the immediate and long-term impact on children and education.
Build a Village
20 million people affected, nearly 2,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands of hectares of land
destroyed, the next two years crops wiped out. Those who have survived wait for
days before any aid or food reaches them. Life is uncertain, and they’re losing
the will to survive.
In order to help those who have been affected to regain a sense of normality in their lives, and to
look to a brighter future, The James Caan Foundation is going to rebuild villages, one by one.
For more information on how your can help us get the lives of thousands of people on track visit www.thejcf.co.uk. Or follow us on Twitter @The_JCF